Live, Laugh, and Love
by Kirara
Summary: KumikoOCis a fullfledged shinobi running from her past,in search of a new life. She is attached to team seven, roomed up with a jounin, just across the road from the silverhaired man who teaches her to trust again and love? KakXOC
1. Desperation

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own any Naruto characters, or anything related to it. Kumiko is mine. Nyahaha.

Okay, note from me: hello and welcome to my first Naruto fic. I've written mostly Inuyasha fics (check 'em out if you're interested) and they've generally been more or less successful. If you think this fic starts out a little depressing, kinda dumb, along those lines, please give it a chance and read a little farther. It lightens up, and I assure you, I'm into happy endings, and I don't enjoy killing off my characters or anything like that. I've never actually finished a fic before, usually because I get too busy, don't have enough ideas, or completely lose interest in what I'm writing so please feel free to give me ideas, tips, and anything you may find useful, because I'm trying to improve as a writer. My goal is to finish something I've started. Maybe it'll be this one.

I've created Kumiko, my own character, and I'll be pairing her up with Kakashi. There will be no sasu/naru pairings in this fic. Period. End of discussion. When I started looking at Naruto fics, I must admit I was kinda freaked out by all of the sasu/naru pairings, and I'm really curious to why there are so many. If anybody reading this has an answer for me, please tell me in your review. I'm dying to know. It's unlikely I'm going to pair up Sakura with anyone, but we'll see how it goes.

I may end up rating this fic as R for language and violence, but not sex. I'm a 16 year old virgin, so I won't be putting in anything I haven't experienced -

Lastly, when I write I listen to music. This chapter was written mostly to 'Dream On' by Aerosmith, so if you wanna download it and listen to it in the background while you read, go for it. Read my short note at the end of this chapter when you're done and please drop me a review.

Thanks,

-Kirara

* * *

Live, Laugh, and Love

Chapter One

Desperation

* * *

The rain poured in relentless waves on to the leafy tops of the thick forest. A lone traveler stumbled along in the downpour, misery and despair dragging her down. Tripping on an unforeseen root, she allowed herself to fall to the muddy path and broke into sobs. Lies. Everywhere Kumiko went, friendship was the only thing she had ever tried to offer, and lies were the only token she ever eventually received. The weak feared what they did not understand, and the strong tried to conquer and harness it.

'_I am more that something to be feared. More than something to be used,_' she thought desperately, in weak attempt to comfort herself and give herself the courage to push forward and seek a new life. Again.

'…_and again…and again…There_ must_ be more to life than this.'_

Struggling to her feet, she looked down the front of her outfit in dismay. Mud had seeped into the cloth and began chilling her to the bone. Shivering, she pressed onwards. This time would be different. This time, she would give up on honing her skills as a ninja, and live a normal life. This time she would meet normal people. Normal people who wouldn't know what chakra was if it danced naked in front of them. Normal people who wouldn't be able to save themselves when her past came back to face her.

She bitterly kicked a rock and sent it whizzing down the path, only for it to collide with a tree and bounce off. Sighing, she unbound her hair from its messy knot and wrung it out. She needed to find a place to stay and think about what she wanted to do with her life; a nice little place where she wouldn't be found, and thus wouldn't constantly have people trying to assassinate or kidnap her.

'_Buggers,_' she thought._ 'To think that my only goal in life right now is to not be murdered or recaptured…_'

Rewrapping her hair up into its bun, she acknowledged her stomach that was constantly reminding her how she wasn't taking care of it. She jumped up into the tree and took off, calculating that if she made good time in the rain, she'd be harder to track in the trees and would possibly get a warm meal before nightfall.

'_Fat chance._'

* * *

Nine o'clock found Kumiko dragging herself into an inn and ordering herself a warm bowl of soup. She sat with her back to the wall and watched all three entrances to the room, and when she was finished, she bought a room for the night. Upon arriving to her room, the first instinct she had was to stand absolutely still and work all of her senses to make sure the room was clear. Her chakra stretched out from her like little tendrils of smoke, and touched every thing in the room with it. When she was done that, she reasoned with herself that no one could have possibly staked out in her room, as she herself had had no idea she was even going to stay in this particular inn until moments ago.

Her second instinct was to flop down on to the still-made bed and sleep like the dead until dawn woke her, but as soon as she allowed her self to flop, she leapt back up and marched to the bathroom to strip and rinse her clothes of the mud.

Once her shirt was more or less back to the shade of forest green that it had started out as and her black pants were spotless and clean, she proceeded to wash her hair in the sink while her clothes drip-dried on any suspended rack she could find.

Then she propped a chair up underneath the door handle and locked the window. It wasn't much, but it would hopefully wake her and give her enough time to reach for one of the kunai knives under her pillow before she was attacked.

By eleven, she was naked under the sheets, hair blow-dried, and dead to the world.

* * *

_Whirling around, she whipped a kunai knife at the attacking ninja and pierced him right between the ribs. Blood spurted out, staining his clothes. Not giving him another glance, she blocked her next attacker with another kunai knife she had already pulled out. Delivering him a punch to the nose, he reeled back, momentarily stunned, giving her enough time to slash his throat. The blood sprayed out, but she ignored it, continuing the spin to cut the man behind her, with her knife, on the cheek. Allowing him to knock her shoulder, she balled chakra into her fist and punched him right into the gut. Blood coughed out of his mouth. She already had another knife in her hand as she readied herself for her next foe. Blood, everywhere there was blood; flooding the floor, soaking into her clothes, caking in her hair. _

_Sucking back a whimper, she tossed a shuriken at the man flying towards her. He blocked it with a knife of his own. She slashed her knife across his face, but instead of blood, his skin sloughed away to reveal a fresh, new face. That face. _

_A scream bubbled up inside of her and poured out her mouth in one relentless cry. She slashed and slashed at his face, but it would only peel away to reveal a fresh, new one. _

_And then he laughed. He threw back his head and laughed, chilling her to the bone.

* * *

_

Kumiko's eyes flew open and she sat up with a muffled scream. Glancing down at her hand, she realized she had a kunai knife gripped in it, ready to defend and attack. She released it and covered her face with her hands. Wiping away the cold sweat from her forehead that thinly covered her entire body, she stumbled out of bed into the bathroom.

These _nightmares_ wouldn't go away, and staring at herself in the mirror, she knew they were taking toll on her. Her cerulean eyes were red-rimmed, lines deepening, and dark puffy bags sagged underneath them. They were still scrunched shut, wanting to close completely, her coal-black hair was tousled and knotted and she was leaning on the edge of the sink for support.

Groaning, she turned on the tap and splashed frigid, cold water on her face. Gasping with shock, even though it was anticipated, she glanced back up to the mirror.

'_Great,_' she thought wearily, '_now I look wide-awake-drunk._'

Sighing, she searched around the bathroom cabinets until she found the hotel-complimentary brush. Attacking her hair furiously, she began working it out until finally, the brush ran smoothly through it. After braiding it, she twisted it up into it's bun at the base of her neck.

Grabbing her cloths from their drying racks, she returned to her room and sat on the bed. She glanced at the clock next to her bed and froze. Checking its time with her watch, to make sure it wasn't incorrect she swore. She had managed to sleep way passed dawn until 10:30.

Cursing, she pulled on her clothes, counted her weapons, and grabbed the room key. She could have been continuing her escape journey, but nooo, she had to waste time sleeping!

Composing herself, she marched up to the innkeeper's desk and paid for her room, sighing inwardly as she handed over another part of her meager wallet. Her money was dwindling and she had to watch how much she was spending.

"Ma'am, would you like some breakfast before you leave?" the kind man behind the desk asked her.

Sighing sadly, she declined. She would possibly need her money later for more important things. "But may I have a map of the surrounding area, please?"

Happy he could be of service, the man pulled out a map and gave it to her.

She thanked him and sat down at one of the tables to study it, but after a few minutes of nodding off and then shaking herself awake again, she ruefully got up and approached the front desk.

"I think I'd like a cup of coffee, please," she said, placing a few coins on the desk. "As black and rich as you can make it."

Smiling, the innkeeper counted the coins and then disappeared into a back room.

Kumiko sat herself back down at her table, back to the wall, and hovered over the map. According to where she was, she was currently in the country of Konoha, the leaf country and that was as far as her brain managed to find out before her coffee was set in front of her. Leaning over it, she inhaled the rich smell, the mere scent of caffeine igniting something in her head. Taking a sip, she sighed.

'_Heaven…coffee was made in heaven…_'

Back to the map, Kumiko began to figure that her best move would be to check out the hidden village of Konoha. Mapping the most direct route, she downed her coffee (giving her brain the shock of its life), left the innkeeper a tip for making her coffee as black as it came, and then left.

Outside, the clouds covered the sun, and the ground was still damp from the previous night's downpour. Continuing her quest east, she set her pace at a jog. She carried nothing on her save for her weapons and money.

'_I'm going to need to buy a new pair of clothes soon,_' she thought irritably. '_And I'm going to need a job so I can continue eating properly…and I can sleep outdoors when it isn't raining…my life sucks…_'

It started to rain again.

"How about I say that a little louder," she muttered. "My-life-sucks!"

Squishing chakra into her feet, she leapt up into a tree and pushed her pace into a run.

'_Maybe I'll make it before dark…'_ she thought.

* * *

The day had eventually cleared up and now, at eleven, Kumiko was running by the light of a very bright, near-full moon. Her eyelids were drooping, her stomach was growling, and her limbs were beginning to protest every step.

Using her rare gift, she flung her chakra out about two miles in ever direction. The nearest trace of a village was approximately almost two miles in front of her. Konoha village, she hoped. Two miles. She could make that in fifteen minutes if she ran fast enough.

Eventually, she was stopped by a pair of guards at the village's enormous wall.

"Miss, what is your purpose here?" one of the guards demanded.

She frowned. What was her purpose? "Um…well, I guess I'm thinking of moving in here," she shrugged.

The second guard frowned and looked her up and down. "You are a ninja, aren't you? But I do not see a headband bearing your country's symbol on it. Where are you from, and what is your name?"

Wiping emotion off of her face, she gave the guard a very serious look. "My name is Kumiko. I do not know my birthplace, nor my last name, and I do not really belong to any country. I am hoping to find acceptance in this village and perhaps stay here."

'_Gee, _that_ didn't sound suspicious. They must think I'm nuts…I really need to get myself a last name,_" she thought sarcastically.

Furrowing his brows, the first guard asked, "So then you do not know how long you will be staying here?"

"That would be correct."

"Will you be staying with anyone?"

"Nope. I'll likely be staying at an inn." she sighed inwardly, realizing how deep she was likely digging herself.

The second guard stepped forward. "If you have no objections, I shall escort you to an inn where you will be staying."

Kumiko relaxed, "That would be wonderful because I have no idea where a decent inn is located."

"Follow me."

He took her through the empty streets of Konoha village. She recorded everything she saw, but there wasn't much to see at night. Eventually, they stopped at a small inn.

"If you choose to change inns, please report to gate entrance E 03 with the information of why you are moving and where you are moving to."

Kumiko nodded in agreement, the two of them exchanged polite bows, and then Kumiko ducked into the inn. She was relieved to find it wasn't too expensive for her current bank account size.

'_But,_' she reflected as she climbed into bed after a hot shower, '_I'm going to need to find a job so I can support myself. I mean, I can't not eat._'

Her stomach gave a growl of protest, reminding her she hadn't eaten anything since the previous night's dinner. Ignoring it firmly, she grabbed the pad of paper next to the phone and then small pencil next to it. Numbering her list, she wrote down the things she'd need to try and support herself.

'_I get to actually try and live by myself…on my own…I haven't done that since…_' she tried to think back that far, '_almost eight years…_'

The question was, how long would it last? How long until her past caught up to her and forced her to see reality; that she could never live a normal life?

'_There must be something I can do,_' she mused bitterly. '_Something I can undo…_'she snorted after a minute, '_…someone I can kill…_'

Sighing she glanced her list. It included things like getting a good job, finding an apartment, exploring the village…not getting shot at…

Frowning, she crossed off the last thing on the list. Being pessimistic was not going to help her at all. Especially if it was currently out of her control.

After a moment of thought, she scratched on something that she could control. It was a lesson she had learned a number of years ago, and she had stuck to it.

_Do not trust anyone._

Deciding that would do it, she set the alarm clock beside her for seven in the morning, she rolled over and dropped off, falling into a series of gruesome nightmares.

* * *

She woke with a start, again, with a knife gripped tightly, flashes of bloody figures dancing around her head. Sighing almost exasperatedly, she dropped the blade and glanced at the little alarm clock that was due to go off within the next ten minutes. Deciding it would be futile to try to sleep for that short amount of time, she rolled off the bed and began her morning routine.

Once her hair was gleaming, her skin cleansed, and her teeth cleaned, she put on her life (clothes, weapons, and money) and left the room. Step one was to find a job. Once she accomplished that, she could prioritize what the money would be put towards. A real place to live would be first, but then all of the necessary house appliances and 'luxury' items would need to be numbered.

Wandering the slowly filling streets, Kumiko began to wonder where exactly she would want to work. Stopping next to a jewelry shop, she wondered what it would be like to work there. Stepping inside, she walked up to the counter.

"How may I help you?" the teenager at the desk asked brightly.

"Um, I'm looking for a job. I was wondering if you could use help."

Almost automatically, the boy's happy mask was whipped off. "Sorry, this shop's run by my family and we've got all the help we can get," he snorted.

Kumiko's face fell, "Very well. Thank you."

Stepping back into the street, Kumiko looked around at the village. The rising sun was casting an illuminating glow on every thing and the different coloured buildings gave off a cheerful air to everything.

'_Illusion is all,_' Kumiko thought absently and she continued down the street.

Pausing in front of a flower shop, she made up her mind and entered.

A teenaged girl sat behind the counter, reading a book. When the bell on the door jingles, she snapped the book shut and sat up.

"Welcome, Miss!" she said pleasantly. "All of our lilies are on sale today for half off!"

Glancing around at the pretty shop, Kumiko wandered up to the desk.

"I'm actually looking for a job."

"A job?"

"Yes. I'm new to Konoha. I'm wondering if I could work here, perhaps?"

The girl looked pensive for a moment. "Well, what's your name and how old are you?"

"I'm Kumiko, and I'm 21. Eh, I don't have a last name."

Raising her eyebrow, the girl said nothing to that comment and continued her interrogation. "What experience do you have in the floral industry?"

'_Ah…now what?_' Kumiko thought with disdain.

"Eh, I've never really worked with flowers before…" she said uncertainly.

"Hmm, well what kinds of skills _do_ you have?" the girl asked patiently.

"Well, I'm somewhat of a ninja…"

The girls eyes widened. "A ninja? What is it about flowers that peak your interest?"

Her Patience with herself were close to snapping, driving Kumiko to blab out her issues to the girl, "I'm in desperate need of a job. I'm staying in an inn with very little money, and I don't know anybody here!"

"Oh," the girl blinked. "Wait one minute, please."

Swishing her rather extensive ponytail, she disappeared into the back room. Kumiko reflected on her decision of talking like that to the girl. She really shouldn't have told her all that, as she was a complete stranger and the information could possibly be used against her. Moments later, the girl reappeared with an older woman.

"Greetings, I'm the owner of this shop."

"Mother has some information that may be of use to you," the girl smiled.

"Ino, please go finish organizing those crates in the back," her mother gently told her.

Nodding, the girl left again, leaving Kumiko alone with her mother. "Ino tells me you are new here and are in need of a job. She also mentioned that you are a ninja and staying, currently, in an inn. To be truthful, you would be of little help to us here if you have no skills related to flowers, but if you go and see Lord Hokage, he may enlist you to a team. If you work as a ninja for this country, you will be given a free room, shared with other women of either your skill level or age, and you will earn money for your own meals through the missions you complete."

Kumiko's eyes widened. None of the other countries she had stayed in had had an opportunity like this for her. "Thank you so much. If I can repay you in any way, please let me know."

The woman shooed the comment off saying there was no need. She stepped outside the shop with Kumiko and pointed at the large, red building that could be seen for blocks around. "That should be where you'll find our Hokage."

"Thank you," Kumiko bowed.

The woman smiled and then returned into the shop.

She walked down the streets towards the building, past a woman with a laughing baby, past a group of guys joking about whatever was currently on their mind, past a trio of kids fighting in the street.

Out of the rabble of the fight, an apple flew towards her unguarded back. Spinning around, knife in her right hand, her left hand caught the apple. Frowning, she blinked at the apple, and then looked up at the kids.

Her stomach couldn't take it any longer. She bit into the apple, sucking in the sweet juice, and savoring every bit of it.

"Hey! HEY! That's _mine_!"

"Hm?" She looked at one of the kids. He had straw coloured hair and was wearing an orange jacket and a pair of pants that matched.

"That's. My. Apple!" he said as if she was stupid.

She cocked an eyebrow up. "You threw it at me, then?"

Growling, he replied, "I was throwing it at _him_!" He pointed to another boy, with dark hair.

"You missed," she told him very bluntly.

"Your aim sucks," the dark haired boy told him.

"Shut up, Sasuke! I _knew_ it would miss!"

Sasuke gave the boy a very dry look.

Kumiko listened to her stomach and took another delicious bite.

You could see the vein pop on the boy's head.

"Give. It. Back!" he shouted at her, his own kunai knife ready.

Giving him a childish pout, Kumiko said, "I'd rather not. I haven't eaten for over 24 hours, you know."

"I spent my own money on that!"

"Oh, shut up, Naruto!" The girl finally spoke up, and whacked him on the head, "Didn't you hear her say she hasn't eaten any thing??"

"It's not hers, you know! She stole it from me!" Naruto protested.

"You threw it at me."

"Let it go, Naruto," Sasuke said.

"Wait! She's a ninja!" He eyed the kunai knife resting in her right hand. "That means I can fight her for it!"

Kumiko narrowed her eyes. "I would advise you against that. It's only an apple and it'll mean so much more to me if I can eat it. It's not worth you getting hurt."

What ever she said, it wasn't what Naruto wanted to hear. "I will not get hurt! I'm gonna be the next Hokage of this village, and I'll never get there if I don't get stronger!"

"You'll never get there if you're dead, either. You know that, right?" Kumiko reminded him.

He charged at her, and before he could blink, he was pinned on the ground with her on top of him, a knife at his throat.

He seemed shocked. She couldn't blame him.

"Now, let it go," she told him around the apple she had stuffed into her mouth.

"What's your name?" he asked her through gritted teeth.

"Kumiko."

"Just Kumiko? You pinned me, the Great Naruto, in under a second, and all you can say is 'Kumiko'?!"

"Just, Kumiko." She stood up and started continuing towards the large red building.

"You wait, Just Kumiko! I'll win next time! This I promise you…"

She waved, acknowledging she'd heard him, and took another bite of the apple.

* * *

'_This is such a strange place,_' Kumiko thought, as she approached the building, '_First, people seem weirdly friendly, second the colour scheme of the village is so bright and weird that it looks…kinda pleasant…and third, people will fight you for an apple…_'

She opened the door to the building and entered. She looked at the signs hanging on the wall and picked the one that said 'Request Room'. She figured that was the reason she was here, to make a request, and if she was wrong, she could be redirected.

She pushed open the door labeled 'Request Room' and was greeted with a cheery atmosphere. There were several people lined up writing their requests down and handing them over to the people monitoring that particular table. On the far wall, Kumiko noticed another line of tables with a few ninja's sitting behind them. One of them was garbed in the traditional Hokage outfit, and he appeared to be talking to a team of ninjas. When he was finished, she approached him, looking around to make sure she wasn't messing up the organized system.

When she reached the table, he glanced up at her and she bowed respectively. "Would I be correct to assume you are Lord Hokage?"

He gave her a gentle smile, "You would indeed be correct. What can I do for you?"

"I'm in need of a job, and a place to stay, and I was told to come here because I'm a ninja."

"And where are you from?"

She faltered. "Well, I've never really stayed in one place, so I can't really tell you."

He smiled again. "What academy did you graduate from?"

"I graduated as a mist ninja some years ago."

"Well, I would be happy to give you a place to stay and attach you to a team, but I'm afraid I'm a little busy now. If you could meet me in my office here tonight at seven o'clock, then I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," she replied, turning to leave.

"One more thing," he added.

She turned back.

"What name do you go by?"

"Eh, Kumiko. I haven't a last name, either."

"Well, Kumiko, we'll see what we can do about that. I'm sure you'll be a citizen of Konoha by nightfall."

"Th…thank you," she bowed, a smile touched her lips.

It vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving no trace that it had been there. She began nibbling around the last of the apple core she held as she turned from the table.

"HEY! It's Just Kumiko! The Apple Thief!"

Kumiko coughed on the said apple. '_Good grief,_' she thought, looking up. '_He's given me a title._'

It was the kid, Naruto, with Sasuke, and the girl. She was quite pretty, and her hair was a delicate shade of pink, with cat-green eyes. Standing with them was a man with a mask that covered the entire lower region of his face. His headband, bearing the Konoha leaf symbol, was lopsided and covered his left eye, and his silvery-white hair slanted towards the left. He wasn't much taller than Kumiko's 5'8", and she detected certain strength about him.

'_Definitely a jounin,_' she thought.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei! I wasn't lying when I said some girl took it from me! I was _going_ to give it to you, but she—"

He was cut off by Sakura elbowing him in the ribs, "You were not, you little runt! Don't lie to him!"

Kumiko decided it wasn't _really_ any of her business, and started to make her exit.

"I'm not finished with you!" Naruto shouted after her.

She turned and looked at him. "You've made that perfectly clear. Whenever you want a rematch, come find me. Though I'm not sure what you're going to do about it. I pinned you in under a second. It was a cake-walk."

Naruto seethed, and started pulling back his sleeves in preparation to fight again.

"Team seven," Hokage interrupted, "I'm afraid the only task I have for you today is to baby-sit Mrs. Obara's triplets in half an hour."

The entire team visibly paled.

"You…you can't be serious!" Naruto stuttered, "You'd need, like, an entire ANBU team to watch that lot!"

"Can't we have, like, extra help!" a frantic Sakura pleaded.

"Extra help?" Hokage asked. "I'm afraid all of the other teams are already assigned to something. Surely they aren't that terrible."

Kumiko watched in amusement as the entire team practically quaked in their boots.

Hokage smiled behind his clasped hands and then said, "Kumiko…I don't suppose you have much to do for the rest of the day?"

Freezing in her tracks, Kumiko turned slowly back towards him. "Well…I…was…um…"

'_Was what? Going to do my laundry in the river? Going to clean a house that doesn't exist? Hang out with friends I don't have?_'

"I uh…I suppose I don't…"

"Then would it be alright if I volunteered you to work with team seven, who seem incapable of taking care of a trio of eight year olds?"

The jounin with the mask snorted under his breath, "_You_ couldn't either, Hokage…"

"I suppose it could work…" Kumiko replied hesitantly.

"Wonderful!" Hokage smiled.

"You can pin me," Naruto said darkly as they left the building, "but can you pin a squad of demonic triplets?"

'_Good question,_' Kumiko thought. What she said out loud was, "We'll find out, won't we?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her, "You're not upping my confidence."

"She's not supposed to, Naruto," his teacher told him. "We'd be doing this alone if she had better things to do."

"Great, so the Apple Thief is here to save our butts."

Sakura giggled, "Careful, you guys, I don't think Naruto's self-esteem can take much more."

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whined, "You're not doing much to improve it…"

The girl shrugged.

Their teacher coughed. "Um, I suppose that because Hokage-sama didn't see the need to introduce us, I suppose I can make the necessary introductions."

He pointed to each of his subordinates in turn. "This is Haruno, Sakura." She smiled and dipped her head. "Uchiha, Sasuke." The boy looked her up and down and then gave the briefest of nods. "And Uzu—" He was cut off by the said person.

"That's Uzumaki, Naruto! I'm going to be Lord Hokage of Konoha village someday, so don't you forget it!!"

"…and I'm Hatake, Kakashi…" he finished, giving Naruto a side look that said he didn't really appreciate being interrupted.

"And you're Just Kumiko the Apple Thief!" Naruto pointed at her.

Kumiko shut her eyes and prayed to high-heaven that she would not do something to this kid that she would later regret. "It's, Kumiko. That's it. No title. Nothing. Not even a last name. Kumiko."

"Well, Kumiko, welcome to team seven," Kakashi interjected with a pleasant smile before things got serious with Naruto, again.

"Thank you," she replied shortly.

They continued to walk, and Kumiko took in every thing; from the colours of the flowers, to the children playing out front. She watched the puffy white clouds in the spring morning sky, and observed the emerald green grass. All the while she was looking around, Kakashi observed her. From her raven black hair that was braided and coiled at her neck, to her crystal blue eyes, to the full, red lips on her spotless face, to the shapely hips that were supported by her long, athletic legs. Her shoulders were broad, her waist was small, and she walked like a dancer.

'_She's a bloody angel,_' he thought.

Her eyes were sharp and were taking in everything around her from the beauty of it all, to all possible threats and dangers. He also observed that she was walking an inch behind him. Just an inch, and it was barely observable. But he was last of the group, and she didn't have anyone of them at her back, meaning she could see every one and what they were doing. He wasn't sure if it was coincidence or if she was paranoid. Maybe she just plain didn't know the way but didn't want to look disoriented. Maybe he was just stupid.

He glanced at his watch. "Eh, I do hate to rush us to our doom, but we need to be there within the next few minutes, so I suggest we speed up."

"Hai, sensei," the trio chorused…but nobody wanted to be the first to speed up.

He rolled his eyes and bounded up on to the first house and broke into a light run. He glanced back and found his subordinates following closely, and just behind them, Kumiko. Moments later, they landed on Mrs. Obara's doorstep and Kakashi reached out and rang the doorbell. No sooner did they hear the first ring echo inside the house did the door fly open.

"Oh, thank goodness! I was afraid no one would show up! Welcome team seven," Mrs. Obara exclaimed.

She beckoned them into the house and closed the door behind them. "Now, the three of them are sleeping upstairs, and should do so for the next half hour. When they get up, all you need to do is heat up the macaroni and cheese in the pot for their lunch. They are to eat their lunch in the kitchen. After lunch, they can watch a movie, go outside, or play a game. I haven't prepared any dinner for them yet, so I'll allow you to poke around and find something. I should be home by 6:30. Ja ne!"

And with that she left. Kumiko, back to the wall, stared blankly at the door and then turned around just in time to see three devilish heads poke around the corner at the top of the stairs.

"Oh great," she heard Sasuke mutter.

"So," Kumiko looked around at everyone else, "how do you guys usually try to deal with them?"

"Uh, lock 'em in a room and then chase after them individually as they escape?" Naruto guessed.

Kumiko rolled her eyes and then looked at Kakashi for some form of command.

He blushed, "Eh, well, see, I don't really know much about taking care of kids, so if you want to contribute your knowledge…"

She gave him a dead look while one of the triplets at the top of the stairs at the top of the stairs twittered, "Hehe, it's the scary ninja with the mask!"

"Let's draw on it while he's sleeping!"

Kumiko gave Kakashi, who had made his way into the living room and had pulled out a book, an incredulous look. "You _sleep_ while you baby-sit??"

He looked directly at her, "I _never_ sleep while on duty. _That_ would be irresponsible."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were now looking at her for some sort of direction. Sighing, Kumiko walked purposely up the stairs and stopped on the half-way landing.

"Right, you three," she addressed the triplets, "you've got to nap for the next half hour, so back to bed!"

The three of them frowned at her. "Nap time's over! We're gonna play!!"

She narrowed her eyes right back at them, "Oh, no you're not!"

"Yes, we are!"

Kumiko sighed, realizing this would get her nowhere. Then an idea popped into her head. "Guys, I really need you to nap for the next half hour, cause if you don't, I won't have time to prepare the surprise I planned for you."

Their greedy eyes widened. "A surprise??"

"What is it?" the girl of the group asked suspiciously.

Kumiko cocked an eyebrow at them, "If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"

One of the boys replied, "We don't care. We want to know!"

"If I told you, I wouldn't be able to give it to you." Kumiko responded.

"How come?"

"Cause then it wouldn't be a surprise anymore!" She gave them her best "duh!" look.

The three of them frowned at her, curiosity peaked, but still wanting to play.

The ringleader said, "We'll think about it," and then the three of them clustered together and spoke in whispers. When they came to a conclusion, they said, "Alright, Lady, we'll go back to our rooms and nap for half an hour, but when we get up, you have to give us our surprise."

Her dark, threatening eyes lightened, "Excellent. Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke?"

The three of them looked up at her. "Please escort them to their rooms and stand guard. It would be a shame to have them sneak out and see what was being done before I'm finished."

They nodded at her, Naruto almost grudgingly, and then walked up the stairs to the triplets.

Sasuke reappeared at the top of the stairs and gave her the thumbs up, indicating they were in their rooms, and then left to stand guard.

Kumiko hopped back down the stairs and paused on the floor as Kakashi looked up at her from his book.

"So, what are you going to do?" he asked.

"Sorry?"

"You're surprise? What is it?"

She raised her eyebrows, "I'm going to go see what their mother left me to work with," she began to walk into the kitchen while Kakashi returned his attention to his book, but then she caught sight of the book.

"…what are you reading?"

"hmm?"

She was next to him, yanking the book out of his hands before he could blink. "You're reading PORN?? AUGH!! YOU'RE BABYSITTING!!! THIS IS JUST AS IRRISPONSIBLE AS SLEEPING ON THE JOB!!!"

"Hey!! I don't tell _you_ what to read!! Give that back!"

"Ugh!! I think I'll go use it for _kindling_ in the fireplace!!"

"OI! It's MINE!" Kakashi lunged for the book and Kumiko ducked and sent him crashing into the wall.

"Is there even a _plot_?" she asked with disgust while flipping the pages.

"Plot?" Kakashi asked from the floor.

She gave him a very exasperated look, "Yea, a plot! An actual storyline, as supposed to one graphic sex scene to another!"

"There's a _plot_!!" Kakashi protested, picking himself up for another attack.

She arched her eyebrow at him, "…really?"

"Yes," he sniffed indignantly and launched another attack, "but I'm not going to take the time to explain it to someone like _you_ who would have no appreciation for it."

She ducked his attack and spun him to the floor to pin him, but he rolled out of it, turning the attack on her. She allowed him to pin both her arms and squish her to the floor, which made him frown. "Where's my book?" he asked with narrow eyes.

Kumiko smirked, "pinned between me and the floor."

"I'd like it back, please," he told her.

"Yes, well, I can't give it to you if you've momentarily disabled my arms with your arms. And I'm not double jointed enough to reach it with my toes," she added.

"…if I let go of one of your arms, will you pass it to me?" he reasonably asked.

"I would ask that you not read it while you're around children." She replied.

"I'll not read it when the kids are present," He bartered.

"Don't read it while I'm around either…" she muttered before agreeing to his terms.

He released her arm and she grasped around to grab it and the passed it over her shoulder to him. He took it from her elegant fingers, and then stood up from his position. Kumiko gracefully twisted up to her feet and then left the room for the kitchen. She gave no outward signs, but Kakashi sensed an air of sour discomfort at her defeat. He shrugged, taking it as a sign of being a poor loser, and then tried to return to his book.

Kumiko busied herself in the kitchen, first opening the pot on the stove to find the kids lunch, to take her mind off of the disturbing book. The macaroni was suffocating in the cheese, which was almost dried out, and then entire thing seemed to be super-glued to the pot. She wrenched the wooden spoon out of the mess and then looked at the entire thing with distaste. She dropped the spoon back into the pot with a clatter, and then closed the lid.

'_I'd be evil if I was forced to eat that stuff, too,_' Kumiko thought.

She began opening up cupboards and she searched through the pantry. At first, she felt dismayed because all she found were instant meals that only needed to be heated or just have water added, but when she looked a little harder, she eventually found the ingredients she needed and set about mixing them together in a wooden bowl she found. The smile on her face was light, and barely there, but the light in her eyes steadily brightened.

'_I haven't really gotten to cook or bake in ages…_' she thought wistfully.

Before long she was singing quietly under her breath, as she wandered over to find a cake pan. She reached up into the unorganized cupboard and noticed that the cake pan she wanted would cause an avalanche of pans, muffin trays, and pots. Standing on tip-toe, she put her arm up to keep the unwanted items in their cupboard, and tugged on the cake pan. Slowly, gently, she pulled it loose. Satisfied, she walked over to where the bowl of mixture was and placed the pan next to it. She turned, still humming lightly, when she heard a rattle coming from the cupboard. Glancing up, she watched as one pot rolled over the edge and she dove for it, catching it one handed.

So began the assault of the pots.

Now that the pot was out of the way, a large muffin tray slid on to an angle and jolted a poorly placed round cake tray out of place, which went spinning down out of the cupboard. Kumiko, who was just standing up with the pot, quickly reached out and snatched the cake tray with her other free hand. Unfortunately, the muffin tray that slid on an angle was now facing out of the cupboard. It began its decent and, frantically, Kumiko caught it between her forehead and the cabinet underneath the cupboard. This regrettably upset the entire cupboard, and the entire thing began to cascade down on to her.

Letting out a scream, Kumiko began to, unintentionally, catch pots on her head, and her outstretched foot. However, she couldn't catch all of them, as she had hindered herself by planting her head to the cabinet. Pots and pans clattered to the floor, and rolled off her back. They whacked her on the head, and knocked other pots she had begun to balance on her arms and leg.

Suddenly, one lone pot clattered to the floor, and then there was silence.

Kumiko let out the breath she had been holding, and then jumped when an unexpected voice spoke.

"Eh, Kumiko? I'm holding up the remainder of the pans with one arm, which means I only have one free hand. How can I best help?"

Startled, she quickly replied, "Nothing! No, just…just keep holding them."

"Really, it would be no trouble to assist you…" he trailed off when she didn't answer.

Closing her eyes, Kumiko breathed and concentrated her chakra to every pore in her body and firmly attached every pot that she had balanced to her. Slowly, just in case, she backed up. When nothing slid, including the muffin tray on her forehead, she walked stiffly over to the counter and released the muffin tray. It clattered to the counter. Steadily moving her right arm, she then plucked a pot off of her left arm. The more pots she removed, the faster she got and when she finished with her arms and leg, she began the difficult task of the few measuring cups on her back.

"At _least_ allow me to help you here." Kakashi said from his position against the wall.

"If you insist in helping, you could put the pots on the floor back into the cupboard in an organized fashion," she replied testily, reaching around her back for the last two trays.

"Eh…I did that…"

She whirled around and looked at the stacked pots and pans sitting in their spot. She frowned.

"Well, I can do the rest of this myself," she informed him, "So you can go back to your…book…"

He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow at her. "May I inquire as to why you are refusing my assistance?"

She busied herself by pouring the batter into the cake pan she had originally grabbed and then placed it in the preheating oven. "Because," she turned to face him, "as you can see, I am practically finished here and I, unlike you, do not have something to do until the kids get up."

"Hmm…well, I could have sworn that you didn't like me, or something…" he said dryly.

Kumiko coughed profusely for a few seconds and Kakashi caught 'porn', 'perverted', and 'loser' out of the jumble of sounds.

He gave her an emotionless look.

Finally Kumiko told him, "You said earlier that you didn't know anything about babysitting."

Sighing, he closed his eyes, thinking 'That's_ an excuse…_' and leaned his head back against the wall. "I said previously that I didn't know _much_ about _taking care of kids_, not _I can't cook or lift pots and help a person who needs it_."

"Ah…right…" she blushed, embarrassed.

"Now then, if you need me, I'm in the other room."

She covered her eyes with her hands. She hadn't meant to make him feel unwanted, but she could really do it herself and if she could, why not do it? Also, she didn't know him at all, aside from his name, and she couldn't say he'd given her any reason to trust him. But she could give him something to do.

"You…you can make them something for lunch."

He stopped mid-stride in the doorway, "Lunch? Our client already made them lunch, I thought," he turned his head towards her. "…unless you did something to it, too?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, "_I_ did nothing to it. However, it looks like it's been sitting there longer than I've been alive…"

"And how long is that?" he asked casually while wandering over to the pot to look.

"Twenty-one," she replied stiffly as she began organizing the pots remaining on the counter.

Kakashi peaked into the pot and looked at it incredulously. "At least it doesn't smell…I'd imagine it wouldn't be pleasant."

"What smell? It's plastic, isn't it?"

Kakashi dug into it with the spoon and it made a protesting '_shluck!_'

"Yeaaa…I'll find the ramen…" he said while hastily closing the pot.

Kumiko marched over to the cupboard with her pots and pans and loaded them in. "Cabinet over there," she pointed. "Actually, I'll make lunch. You can wash the pot."

* * *

After the kids nap, they were all sitting around the table. The triplets (Rei, Miki, and Jiro) had started out slurping their ramen and attacking everybody with it until Kumiko threatened to hang them with it. When they didn't believe her, she demonstrated. Add some scary charka special effects and they were now being unnaturally polite.

Kakashi sat down at the table finally with his lunch.

Kumiko looked at him curiously, "How's the pot doing?"

"Eh…regular soap didn't work…neither did scrubbing it with baking soda…"

She waited patiently for him to continue.

"…so now it's soaking in drain cleaner. I'm hoping the chemicals will eat away at the stuff."

Kumiko choked on her ramen. "Drain cleaner? Are you sure it won't eat the _pot_?"

"Those pots are very durable," Rei spoke up. He shrunk down as everybody turned to look at him. "Um…is it…okay if I talk?"

Kumiko blinked, "Of course it's okay if you talk. Just don't misbehave…" she warned.

"Right, cause otherwise you'll hang us by our ankles, and you won't feed us and you'll tell mommy how bad we've been…" Jiro squeeked.

"She'll just feed you what's sitting in the pot," Naruto smirked.

"Continue please, Rei," Kakashi encouraged, while swatting Naruto about the head.

He coughed and continued. "As I was saying, those pots are very durable. Mom's a horrible cook. They'll withstand just about anything you do to them."

"Wonderful," Kumiko said, finishing her meal. She got up and went to the oven as it beeped.

All heads rose from what they were doing and looked curiously, as Kumiko pulled her finished cake from the oven.

"Is that our surprise?" Jiro asked, almost in awe of her.

She nodded as she pulled plates down from a cupboard and began to slice the cake and place it onto plates for everyone.

"What are we going to do after lunch?" Sakura asked as she nibbled her cake.

"We won't be stringing toilette paper around the house, will we?" Miki muttered, whipping crumbs from her mouth.

"What do _you_ think, Miki?" Kumiko asked.

"Why don't we play a nice game of cards…" Kakashi tentatively suggested.

The triplets looked at each other with looks of disgust on their faces.

"_I_ think that's a wonderful idea." Kumiko agreed, collecting their dishes.

Hastily, the kids nodded and all agreed. They filed into the living room with the three genin close behind.

Kumiko frowned at the bowl and plate Kakashi was carrying to the sink, "When…when did you eat?"

"Eh? Oh, while I was at the table."

Kumiko gave him a very empty look, "No you didn't. You couldn't have. I would have seen it…"

He smiled at her and said nothing, unnerving her again.

* * *

At 6:50 the group of five was walking down the street towards the building they'd started in. Kumiko walked behind everybody else in the group and casually look around at the village as it began to light up. It had been a rather long, and sort of interesting day, and Kumiko couldn't wait to possibly sleep in a new room. Her room. Her _home_.

Kakashi observed her face becoming more hopeful the closer they got to their destination. She seemed to be anxious as they reached it, and he began to wonder about her. Why did she sometimes act so cold, and other times so excited about the smallest of things? Why didn't she put even the smallest amount of faith or trust into any of them when it was concerning her, and why wouldn't she smile? …And what was wrong with his book?

At the red building, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke left at Kakashi's word, and the two of them proceeded into the building. Kakashi took her to Hokage's office so she wouldn't get lost, and as he turned to check off the mission they accomplished for the day, he turned as she was about to knock on the door.

"Eh…if you ever need help or anything, I'll be around. I don't suppose you know many people here yet, if you're new, so I'll help, if you'd like, until you get settled…"

He turned and left down the stairs, but not before he heard a faint "Thank you" come from the nervous girl.

Shaken, Kumiko turned her attention back to the door in front of her. She'd either live as a ninja for this country and actually belong, or she'd be scraping to get by. She needed this opportunity and perhaps, she thought, she needed Kakashi's friendship. She'd take it for now, '_And,_' she thought somewhat darkly, '_I'll introduce him to some different reading material when I get the money to buy him a new book…_'

She raised her hand again to the door, and knocked. The sound seemed to echo throughout the entire building, signaling her doom.

There wasn't really any going back now, although, she reminded herself, where would she go? Here was her best chance and it wasn't getting away from her.

She was ready for the voice from within that beckoned her to enter, and she entered, swallowing her fear and nerves, and ready to determine the course of her future.

* * *

Wee hooray for my first chapter! I hope you liked it, and if you didn't really, I hope it gets better…

Yeeeaaaa… Please drop me a review, tell me what I did good, tell me what I can and should improve, and if I made/make any technical mistakes referring to original naruto facts, please don't hesitate to correct me.

I've already started on my second chapter, so go me… let's see if I can keep this up.

Cheers

-Kirara


	2. Fitting In

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any Naruto related characters. I own Kumiko.

* * *

Live, Laugh, and Love

Chapter Two

Fitting In

* * *

Kumiko stepped into the office and looked around. It was wallpapered in forest green, and oak bookcases lined the walls. There was a fireplace on the left wall, and one window on the ceiling. Across from the doorway, at the far end of the room, sat Lord Hokage behind his desk. The desk held a globe of the world, several stacks of papers, a desk lamp, and a crystal ball.

Kumiko frowned at the oddness of the window's placement, but she realized that seeing as the room was almost at the center of the building, with a hallway going all the way around, there would be no use for a window on the wall.

"Come, come, Kumiko." Hokage gestured to one of the two chairs.

Kumiko's nerves were on end. The room, which could have appeared ominous with its colouring, the glow of the fireplace, and the eerie gleam of moonlight through the window, all ended up feeling rather comforting. Every shield Kumiko had ever created around herself was up, as she approached the chair with the appearance of being laid-back.

She sat down in one of the cushy armchairs and gave Hokage her attention.

Hokage gave her a soft smile. "Kumiko, my dear, there is no need for this hostility."

She blinked, surprised. "Hostility? I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about."

"You seem to be anticipating an attack from some invisible foe that I have ordered to jump out of the woodwork as soon as you relax."

Startled, Kumiko wrapped her defenses around her more tightly.

"I am about to give you a name, a place to live, and a team to become a part of. Why do you find this suspicious?" he asked her curiously.

"Well, it _is_ a rather good deal, don't you think? And what do you think you'll be gaining from this?"

"A good deal? I don't believe I really thought of it that way. As for me, I'll be gaining a new ninja for my country. All I'm going to ask of her is her obedience and loyalty, and that she does her best."

Hokage watched her face carefully as she sifted this information through her head. Her face was well-schooled at being completely blank, he saw very few smile lines around her mouth, but her eyes told her story. They were hard, but they betrayed her. They were lost, uncertain, untrusting, and hurt. They'd seen many things, death, pain, loss, and very little joy.

"How old are you, Kumiko?" he asked her.

She looked up from her thoughts, "Twenty one."

'_Twenty one…_' he thought with surprise. '_She has seen far too much for being only 21. Konoha will be a good place for her. Perhaps she will learn how to laugh again—if she ever knew how, that is._'

"Well, Kumiko, I have put some thought into your living arrangements, but I would like to know what level of a ninja you are."

Kumiko wore a baffled look as she pondered this information, and the expression quite amused Hokage for whatever reason. "I'm afraid the last exam I took was the chunin exam, but that was about a decade ago. I haven't really a clue to what my true level is."

Hokage eyed her peculiarly, "A chunin at age 11? I would like to see what you are capable of doing. Would it be alright if I matched you up against a few ninjas to get a feel for your skill level?"

"That would be just fine, I suppose. I haven't any plans, so the sooner, the better…"

Hokage smiled stood, and then stepped out into the hallway. He was there for less than two seconds before two ninjas appeared.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Send for Master Iruka. Tell him I've arranged for him to be in a match against our newest ninja."

"Hai!" And they were gone.

Hokage turned and closed the door behind him. "Iruka should be here soon. He is a chunin school master at the academy."

"Where will the match be held?" Kumiko asked him.

"I am thinking out in the woods. It would give the best natural setting," he joked and then laughed at his own joke.

Kumiko didn't quite see what was funny.

* * *

It was quarter to ten when Hokage-sama, Kumiko, Iruka, and two of Hokage's soldiers, were assembled in a clearing next to a lake. There was a memorial block with a flag, and between it and the lake, stood three tall logs out of the ground.

Kumiko stood twenty feet away from Iruka, and Hokage stood at an equal distance between them, forming a triangle.

"Here are the rules," Hokage said, "There is no time limit. The match will be over when one of the participants is knocked out. There is to be no permanent injuring. This is not to the death. I will interfere if I feel it is necessary. Do you both understand?"

Both participants nodded, their eyes never leaving each other.

"Begin!"

Kumiko vanished into the trees, and then watched her opponent do the same on the other side of the clearing. Iruka was a chunin, and while Kumiko had only taken the chunin exam and never gone higher, she knew she was far better than his level. The challenge for her would be knocking him out. For a very long time, the only matches she'd participated in had been real life ones and the only good enemy was a dead one. She wasn't after Iruka's death, so it was time for a little strategizing. She knew exactly where Iruka's position was. That was one of her talents. If the enemy had chakra, she could find them. He seemed to be waiting in the trees for her to make the first move, so she took her time in remembering some of what she'd learned a while back. She decided to do it head on, and use her speed as an advantage. She also decided that simply because Iruka was a chunin, Hokage may have matched them up because his level was more than what he seemed. Underestimating him would be a bad idea. Walking into obvious traps would be humiliating.

Being silent would be her best bet. Silent and careful.

She took off from the tree she was in, and ran in the branches around the clearing so she could be closer. She found Iruka camouflaged in a tree, focusing his chakra to find where she was. If she got much closer, he would find her, so speed was the key. She saw the rope hanging from his belt and made her decision. Zooming across twenty feet in less than two seconds, right for him, Kumiko grabbed the rope from his belt, right as he opened his eyes to discover her. He attacked her, and she blocked, punching him in the gut with her other hand, and then looped the rope around him. His eyes widened as he watched her block his attacks with one hand, and work the rope to do what she wanted with the other hand. If she needed two hands, she blocked and attacked with her legs for a bit. She was strong, and quick, and had his arms and legs pinned to his body within minutes.

"Hokage said knocked out," she said, as if in apology, and then tapped him hard at the base of his neck with her two forefingers.

He saw stars briefly, and the darkness.

Hokage clicked a stop-watch he'd been holding as he watched Kumiko enter the clearing with an unconscious Iruka slung over her shoulder, gift-wrapped in his own rope.

"Seven minutes and thirty two seconds." Hokage announced. '_And she's not even breaking sweat,_' he added to himself.

Kumiko gently placed Iruka at Hokage's feet, as Hokage turned to one of his soldiers.

"Yû, I would like you to fight Kumiko next."

The soldier looked startled, but bowed his head, and he and Kumiko stepped back into the clearing.

Hokage then turned to his remaining soldier to give her instructions. "Go find Hatake, Kakashi. I have a feeling Kumiko will have no trouble with Yû, and I'd also like to find out how much stamina she has."

The woman disappeared, as Hokage announced the rules again and started the match.

Kakashi arrived at the scene, dressed and ready, to watch the end of the match. His eyes widened as he watched Kumiko and the soldier in the clearing. Kumiko slashed full out at the soldier, severing his head from his neck, only to watch it disappear with a poof. Another form of the soldier appeared behind her, and she readily attacked it, punching him first in his stomach, and then suddenly moving behind him, wrapping her arm around his neck. She'd moved so fast, his normal eye hadn't been able to follow. He watched dumbfounded as the soldier struggled against her, trying to breath, but Kumiko held her hand over his mouth and they watched the chakra wisp off of it, pry open the man's mouth, and enter him. It reappeared momentarily and they watched the man shudder against her, and then pass out. She released him, automatically, and quickly laid him on the ground and breathed into him. When she was satisfied he was breathing normally, she carried him to Hokage's feet.

Hokage looked at her from his stop watch. "Eleven minutes and fourteen seconds," he announced.

"What did you do to him?" the female soldier demanded from Hokage's side.

"Hm? Oh, I pulled his breath out of him. It would have taken too much time to wait for him to pass out, and there was the chance he could have escaped. It's a dangerous move because he may never have breathed again, but if you do it correctly, and perform a light CPR after using it, he is merely unconscious, which was the goal of the match."

Hokage smiled around a pipe he held in his mouth, and then said, "I'm now going to match you up against Kakashi. Would you like a break before your match?"

"I'm fine," Kumiko told him.

"I figured you would be," Hokage muttered under his breath before sending them to their places in the clearing. He announced the rules again and then shouted 'Begin!'

He watched Kumiko perform a seal so fast his eyes couldn't make out the forms she'd made, and then they both stood there. Perhaps Kakashi would reveal his eye. He doubted it, as Kakashi only liked to use it in life or death situations, but it would benefit him in this match.

"So," Kakashi said, "you must be pretty impressive if Hokage is pairing you up against me _after_ you've fought against two others."

"Yes, I wonder who he'll give me after this match?"

He narrowed his eye at her, "Don't get cocky. You still have to get through me."

He lunged at her, and she blocked. They parried with each other across the grounds for a bit before he went for her neck. Her eyes widened in surprise before her form went 'poof' and transformed into a log. Kakashi was shocked and much unprepared. He took off into the forest to pull himself together and find her. But the trouble was, he couldn't sense her at all. Hokage, at the edge of the clearing couldn't seem to either, which made him frown.

Up in the trees, Kumiko used another of her little-known techniques, and completely masked her whereabouts. She found his energy with her undetectable chakra, and then felt little pieces of his energy break off and start to move. Doppelgangers. She frowned and then decided to play his game. She molded her chakra and then flung her doppelgangers away from her.

Before long, one of them spilled out into the clearing, following Kakashi. She could tell by his make-up, that her form wasn't fighting the real Kakashi, and went for a killing blow that dissipated his recreation in poofs of leaves and dust. Her doppelganger shot back into the forest, after Kakashi's real form and soon, she narrowed down most of his forms to two. She'd lost several of her own, and only had two left, plus herself. One of them attacked his doppelganger and took it out, and then turned to face the real Kakashi. This was her special doppelganger; her trap. And she was waiting to see if he'd fall for it.

They attacked, moved, tossed weapons, blocked, and her doppelganger eventually pushed him back to the water's edge. Giving him a strong kick to the chest she knocked him backwards and he splashed into the water.

She made a few quick seals up in the trees, and keeping up the charade, she made her doppelganger make the same seals down at the water's edge. The water swirled up to envelope him but not before he made a quick hand seal and another doppelganger appeared right behind Kumiko's form. It slashed at her with a kunai knife and she, carelessly with out a weapon, blocked with her arms and cursed blackly as the blood spilt and then turned into water. Her entire form splashed to the ground. The look on his and his doppelganger's face was priceless, though.

Sending her remaining leaf doppelganger out of the trees to defeat his last doppelganger, she dropped to the ground, as his doppelganger went out with a poof. She released hers, too, and then walked out of the trees to where the water was holding him. The water was coating him thickly so he couldn't move, except for his neck and head. It held him in place, and he could do no more.

"So, what now, my puppeteer?" he asked with the air of one who was sour with his defeat, as she approached him.

"I haven't won until you're unconscious."

"It was a good idea, making one of your doppelgangers different from the rest."

"I'm glad you fell for it," she replied softly.

"Would I have been so difficult to defeat, otherwise?" he teased lightly.

He noticed her voice became somewhat dejected. "I'm good at killing, Kakashi, not rendering someone unconscious. I know many ways of ending a human's life. It's very difficult to be creative with a KO."

"So what are you going to do?"

She seemed pensive for a moment and then looked him in the eye. "I'm going to see you later."

And with that, she hit him with her two fingers at the neck, and rendered him unconscious.

* * *

When Kakashi came to, he heard another person groan next to him. The female soldier was also waking up, cursing under her breath and was ruefully rubbing her head.

When Kakashi's head cleared and he found he could talk, he conversationally asked, "So, what'd she do to you to win?"

Massaging her scalp, she turned towards him, her face scrunched up in pain. "She threw me head first into a bloody tree. I'm surprised I haven't sustained any serious injuries."

"She was most upset when she discovered what she'd done."

They turned to find Iruka sitting up.

"Oh, I'll just bet!" the guard snapped back. "At least I wasn't subdued with my own rope!"

Kakashi gave Iruka a bemused look. "Do tell…"

Turning red, Iruka protested, "I remember nothing of the sort!"

"Oh go on!" the guard jeered, "She knocked you out the same way she did to Kakashi, and _he_ remembers everything."

Their conversation stopped as Kumiko and her current opponent flew into the clearing.

Kakashi frowned at the two moving almost too fast for human eyes to follow. "Is that Gai?"

"Yep. The match has been going on for about five minutes." Iruka said.

"This is going to be the last match tonight."

They all glanced up at Hokage.

"I still need to assign her to a team and give her a new home," he said tiredly, "and it is currently quarter to twelve."

"I haven't been out _that_ long, have I?" Kakashi asked.

"Your match lasted twenty-two minutes and forty-five seconds, and you've been out for almost half an hour."

Kakashi digested this information but was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a cry from the fight, and then watched Gai slump to the ground.

Kumiko flopped to the ground to catch her breath but then leapt up and walked towards the group, leaving Gai where he was on the ground.

"One of you can come and get him," she called, sounding slightly disgusted. "I don't want to touch him."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows at her statement and then his eyes widened. "He didn't try to…"

"Charm her?" Iruka asked. "Oh yes. She didn't take it too well."

"Charming? If he thinks that grinning stupidly and making ridiculous remarks is charming, he needs a lesson or twenty," Kumiko gagged on her way over.

"Oh, I don't know, you two looked like you'd make a cute couple," the female soldier crooned sarcastically.

Kumiko rolled her eyes, "Look, I'm sorry I threw you into a tree, okay?"

Iruka looked up at Hokage saying, "What are you thinking, Hokage-sama? Kumiko will never make any friends if you keep having her knock them out first."

Hokage smiled as Kumiko ignored the statement and asked, "So, who's next?"

"Next?" Hokage asked, "You've just fought five ninja's in a row without a rest and they weren't exactly rookies. You don't look like you're working hard either."

Kumiko shrugged modestly, "It took a bit of strategizing seeing as I couldn't just kill them…"

"I'm talking about your stamina, Kumiko," Hokage said. "You said you're only 21," the female soldier choked, showing her surprise, "and you have very good mastery of speed, strength, chakra, and also concentration."

Kumiko remained silent knowing it could be dangerous to mention where her strength was truly dominant. Hokage waited for her to say something regarding to his statement, but decided when she said nothing that perhaps she would mention it in private.

"Your match times and opponents were thus: Iruka, seven minutes and thirty-two seconds; Yû, eleven minutes and fourteen seconds; Kakashi, twenty-two minutes and forty-five seconds; Hisa, nineteen minutes and two seconds; and Gai, nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds."

Kakashi was momentarily surprised that Gai had done so poorly, but then figured that Kumiko may have been more motivated to defeat him when he started trying to make verbal passes at her.

"Kakashi, if you are in a condition to do this, please go to Kurenai's place and inform her of her new roommate. The rest of you are dismissed." Hokage told them. "Oh, Hisa, please take Gai to his place and make sure he wakes up. Kumiko, let's go to my office again to get you a place to live and a new name."

Her face lit up vaguely, and she followed Hokage back through the thick forest and into the city to the building they'd started out in.

Sitting at the desk after a good workout, Kumiko was feeling slightly more confident, if not laid back.

"So," Hokage began, "I am still unsure of what your level is, even after that. You certainly surpass even a jounin, of which Hisa, Gai, and Kakashi were, but I still do not really know you, so instead of assigning you your own subordinates, I'm thinking I'm going to attach you to an already existing team."

Kumiko frowned at this. She understood the importance of team work, but she was much better at working alone. However, if this would help her fit in better, she could suck it up and be a little social.

'_Who knows. Maybe I'll actually make a few friends in this place,_' she thought, trying to be optimistic.

"As for which team I'm adding you to, I am thinking team seven would benefit you the most. Kakashi is our strongest jounin and you have met and worked with him, so it would spare you the difficulty of trying to fit in with a completely new group. When you have gotten used to our system then perhaps we can talk of assigning you your own team of rookies."

Kumiko visibly paled. Rookies. Teaching preteens. Teaching. Not good.

Hokage pressed on, "As for your living arrangements, you will be sharing a home with Yuuhi, Kurenai. She has been living alone for a few years, since her last roommate moved out, and has been waiting for someone new. She is one of our few female jounins, and lower than your level, but I am sure this can be easily overlooked as you are merely living together.

"Now, regarding your name. It must be very irritating for you to be going around calling yourself 'Kumiko' without stating your clan name. So, seeing as we cannot randomly give you a clan, I think that because you are now a part of team seven we will perhaps call you Shichi. Shichi, Kumiko. Does that sound alright to you?"

'_Shichi, Kumiko…my own name…my own room…heck, my own life!_'

Kumiko's mouth twitched until her face was obviously adorned in a soft, grateful smile.

"And I think you'll want this," Hokage continued, presenting her a headband with the Konoha leaf symbol engraved in it.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," she replied with gratitude, "Thank you very much."

* * *

The guard in front of Kumiko rapped on the door of a small house a few blocks from Hokage's office. They waited patiently outside the door until a woman with thick, wildly styled hair and brilliant red eyes opened the door.

"Yes? How may I help you?" she inquired.

"Hokage-sama has given a room to this girl, Shichi, Kumiko, here."

The woman's eyes widened and then her face broke into a grin of delight. "Of course! Please come in!"

The guard bowed and then left as Kumiko stepped into entrance hall. There was a staircase to her almost immediate left that went up two stairs and then turned right and went up to the second floor. To her right was a living room that was a step down from the entrance hall. The living room was filled with a squashy armchair, a couch, and a loveseat with a coffee table in the middle. There was a TV on the far wall and the seats in the room were all more or less angled in that direction. Behind that was a little kitchen. The kitchen appeared to have two entrances; one large opening from the living room, and one doorway sized opening from the hallway that ran past both the living room and the kitchen.

"Kumiko's here!" Kurenai called up the stairs.

Kakashi's head poked around the corner at the top of the stairs, "Ah, konnichiwa, Kumiko!"

"You seem to be in good spirits for someone who was unconscious not an hour ago," Kumiko muttered.

Kakashi's head was shortly followed by another man's, one Kumiko did not know.

"I had the guys come over to clear out some of their crap from the spare rooms. I'm the only one living here in a house meant for three, and their dorm is full, so they dump their junk in my two spare rooms," Kurenai explained.

"This is Sarutobi, Asuma," Kakashi introduced as he began his decent down the stairs. "Asuma, this is Kumiko."

"Shichi," Kumiko corrected him, softly.

"Hm?" Kakashi asked.

"It's Shichi, Kumiko," Kumiko's face flushed gently.

Kakashi's eyes softened as he looked down at the twenty one year old, who had just royally kicked his and several other ninja's butts, glow with a soft pride of having her own self-named clan. She looked like a little girl; one who appreciated and cherished everything life gave her; one who steeled herself up against life's cruelties and dealt with them as best as she could. And maybe she had been a girl who had to live like that, and one who had grown up into a young woman that was still doing that.

He smiled, "Shichi, Kumiko. I see you got yourself a name. Why Shichi?"

"Hokage-sama has added me to your team because I've worked with you already and he doesn't know me well enough to give me my own team," Kumiko shrugged explained quietly. "Shichi because your team number is kind of like my first clan to belong to."

Kakashi grinned. "Eh, we're almost finished clearing out one of the rooms for you."

"Of course, now the other spare room is a mess, but I'm sure we'll get around to clearing it out…" Asuma smiled benevolently.

Kurenai's eye twitched, "More like, if we want it clean, we'll just have to do it ourselves."

"But for tonight," Kakashi cut in, "You have a place to sleep and store whatever you brought with you…" he glanced around at her, "…which would appear to be not much…"

"It was very pesky to have to keep packing up, making sure I grabbed everything, and then having to carry it all," Kumiko explained, "so I sold my things and now I carry the clothes on my person, my weapons, and my money."

"Well we'll fix that!" Kurenai grinned. "You get to live here, so we'll decorate your room to suit you, and I'll take you shopping sometime to fix that empty wardrobe."

Kumiko was at a loss for words. "I…um…well…" she gave a short laugh and sighed, "I have no idea how I'll be able to repay you…"

Kurenai scoffed, "Think of it as a house warming gift."

"I'd imagine Kumiko's very worn out and would like some sleep," Kakashi said softly and Kumiko's look of gratitude told him he was correct.

Asuma smiled, "We should be on our way then, Kakashi."

The ninja nodded in agreement and then two of them headed towards the door.

"Oh," Kakashi paused and turned towards Kumiko, "Tomorrow's Sunday, so no team meeting. You'll have time to shop."

Kurenai all but shoved them out the door saying it was way past their bed time and finally closed it behind them.

"Come on," she said to Kumiko, "I'll show you to your room."

Kumiko followed Kurenai up the stairs to the second floor. There were four doors: Two on the left side of the hall, towards the back of the house, one on the right side, towards the front of the house, and one at the very end of the hallway.

"That room's the bathroom," Kurenai pointed to the door at the end of the hallway, "This one's mine," she pointed to the one next to the bathroom on the left side of the hall, "and I think they cleaned this one out for you," she said while pushing open the door on the right side of the hall. She froze in her tracks and then turned and shut the door. "Perhaps I've made a mistake." She opened the door next hers on the left side and then quickly shut it. "I am sooo going to kill those two niiiice and sloooow…"

Kumiko softly opened the door of the room Kurenai had originally said was hers and stared with a dead expression. The bed in the corner was cleared off and so was the narrow pathway leading to it. The dresser, table, chair, floor, and window ledge was cluttered with books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, and even a dead plant or two.

Kumiko shut the door and then opened the other door next to Kurenai's room.

It was worse.

Not even the bed was cleared off.

"It's like they picked up the stuff off the bed and the floor where the little path is and tossed it in here," Kurenai looked like she was going to scream and start throwing things.

Kumiko silently shut the door. "I could sleep on the couch," she suggested helpfully.

"No, no, you'll sleep in a nice, comfortable bed, but not in these cluttered rooms." Kurenai's mouth was set in a grim line. "Come with me."

She took Kumiko out of the house and across the street. She banged on the door, loudly, and Asuma's head poked out the door.

'_They live close…_' Kumiko observed silently.

"Yes, Kurenai?" He asked a little dozily.

Kurenai grabbed Kumiko's hand and shoved Asuma aside. She left Kumiko standing in a living room that was nearly identical to Kurenai's and stormed upstairs. She returned very quickly and was dragging a protesting Kakashi by the ear and then sat him and Asuma on the couch and glowered at them. "YOU CALL THAT A CLEAN ROOM?? WERE YOU RAISED BY WOLVES?? HOW COULD YOU EXPECT ME TO MAKE KUMIKO SLEEP THERE???? YOU'RE BOTH TERRIBLE PEOPLE AND YOU KNOW WHAT??"

"You're going to turn us over on your knee and spank us?" Asuma ventured a guess.

You could see the steam billowing out of Kurenai's ears, "I'M GOING TO MAKE THE TWO OF YOU SLEEP IN THAT ROOM YOU "CLEANED OUT" _TOGETHER!!_"

"So…where will Kumiko sleep?" Kakashi asked.

Kurenai turned up her nose, "Well, seeing as Asuma's room is nearly as cluttered as the one he "cleaned out", I happen to know that _your_ room is tidy. So she gets your room until hers is presentable."

Kakashi and Asuma exchanged disgruntled glances. "And how do you plan to enforce your idea?" Asuma challenged, standing up, pulling Kakashi up with him. "You can't defeat Kakashi alone, never mind with me on his team."

"I'll enforce Kurenai," Kumiko said.

Kakashi sat down very quickly and yanked Asuma down with him whispering, "You _do not_ want that."

"She's fought, what, five ninja's tonight! There's no way she could stand up to two right now," Asuma scoffed.

"You really don't want to test that," Kakashi told him. "Let's go do what Kurenai says, and we'll have our rooms back in no time."

Shooting Kurenai dark glances, the boys filed out. Kurenai grabbed Kakashi by the collar of his vest, "Show your guest where her room is. See you at home."

She left shutting the door behind her.

Sighing, Kakashi started up the stairs saying, "Just so you know, it was my idea to put the stuff we cleared out into the other room. Asuma was ready to pile it up on top of the other stuff."

Arching her eyebrow, Kumiko asked, "So what exactly is it all? This…'stuff'… I mean, do you even use half of it?"

"Well…"

". . ."

Kakashi coughed and pushed open his door, which was the one on the right side of the hallway. "This is my room." He looked her up and down and then went over to his dresser and pulled out a baggy t-shirt and a clean pair of boxers. "You can wear this, seeing as you haven't brought any pajamas. I would have washed the sheets if I had of known Kurenai was going to do this, but unfortunately, you're going to have to sleep in used sheets."

Kumiko shrugged taking the clothing handed to her, "It's much better than the ground."

Kakashi snorted, "Yes, I suppose it is. Do you sleep on the ground often?"

"If I can't find an inn soon enough and it isn't raining."

Kakashi put on his carefree smile, "You'll have to tell me about yourself sometime. Sleep well." He closed the door behind him and she listened to his footsteps down the stairs and out the door. Kumiko peeked out the window, through the blinds, and watched him cross the road to find Kurenai standing in the doorway. She started barking at him again, dragged him in the house by the ear, and then slammed the door behind them. Kumiko's lip twitched and then stretched into a grin and she even began to laugh. These were the people she was going to be living with, and they didn't appear all that bad. She'd watch her back, but she hoped she wouldn't have to. If these people turned on her now, she feared it would hurt her more than she'd want to admit. She already felt like she was beginning to fit in, and that was always a mixed blessing for her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she began to undress and pull on the clothing Kakashi had loaned to her. She left his room and entered the bathroom. She pulled her hair out of its bun and unbraided it, only to realize she had no brush to brush it with. Peeking into a few cupboards, she finally came up with a brush. Running it through her lengthy hair, she began to hum a tune under her breath until the brush ran smoothly. Flopping into Kakashi's bed, she frowned and then rolled over and inhaled the scent from his pillow that was tickling her nose. It flooded her senses and she was momentarily dazed until she took another breath. Her eyes were wide. It was like candy for the nose. Nose Candy. The only way she could describe what he smelled like was the forest, wilderness, a hint of laundry detergent, and soap. She remembered to place three kunai knives under her pillow and then stumbled out of bed to prop the chair at the desk under the doorknob. Falling back into bed, she wrapped herself up in his comforting scent by completely burrowing into the blankets. She fell asleep thinking that if someone could bottle this smell and sell it, they'd make millions.

* * *

_The blood sprayed out of the wound, as she yanked her knife out of his body. He fell to the ground, eyes wide, as she spun around to meet her next opponent. He lunged for her with a knife, and she easily dodged him, sending her already bloodied knife into his stomach. He grunted and then slumped to the ground. A cry from above warned her of some one attacking from the top. She countered his blade with her own, and punched him between the ribs with her spare fist. He spat blood into her face and cursed wordlessly at her. She dropped her knife after flicking his out of his hand, and then grabbed his face and wrenched it to the left, breaking his neck. He fell to the ground and she pulled out a new knife. Spinning around she drove her knife in between a new man's ribs. His mouth opened in a silent snarl and slashed at her arms with his knife. She poked around with her knife, tickling his heart before piercing it in an explosion of blood. He fell, dead, with a splat. Reaching for a new knife, panic jolted through her as she discovered her knife pouch was suddenly gone. So were her shurikens and, she realized hysterically, her charka wasn't obeying her. It just wasn't there. She formed seals and nothing happened._

_His laughter filled the space she was in, echoing off invisible walls, and her mouth went dry with fear. _

"_Kumiko-chan…why do you run? Can't you see, without me, you are nothing?" he crooned._

"_Get away from me!!" she shrieked, "I don't need you, and I don't want you!"_

"_Poor Kumiko-chan has no idea what she's talking about," the voice whispered next to her ear._

_Whirling around, there was nobody there. Kumiko trembled. "What do I need to do so that you'll leave me alone??" She demanded to the phantom voice._

"_Once I have you body, mind, and soul, I shall be happy."_

_Kumiko calmed herself and forced her breathing to become even. "Then," she said evenly, "I'm going to have to kill you."_

_The knife appeared in her hand and she attacked. She couldn't see him, but she knew where he was. The evil surrounding him was unmistakable, and when her blade came in contact with him, the blood sprayed in every direction. Black blood. She went for the killing blow, when an echo pounded her head. Her eyes widened and she was ripped from the nightmare._

* * *

Kumiko's eyes flew open, and she sat up as soon as she was awake with a knife in each hand. She shivered as she realized she'd kicked her sheets off her and onto the floor. She sat very quietly and soon heard a knock on the door.

"Kakashi? Are you in there?"

Kumiko frowned, trying to remember the voice. She glanced around, slowly recognizing the room she was in, and then swung her feet to the floor and walked over to the door as the same someone knocked again.

"Kakashi?"

She opened the door, knife in hand, and looked up at the man.

"It's You!!" She yelled in horror.

"It's You!!" He yelled with joy.

Kumiko slammed the door in his face and held her body against it incase he tried to force entry. It was that horrible guy she had knocked out the previous night, Man, or something like that…Guy? No, Gai. That was his name.

"What do you want??" she called sharply.

"Please open the door so we may talk politely," he said.

"You promise not to do anything stupid?"

"Um…I guess."

She slowly opened the door. "Now, what do you want?"

He tilted his head to the side, as if in thought. "You…you're sleeping in Kakashi's bed…No!! He beat me again!! If he is to try to have you then, as his rival, I must compete!"

Kumiko checked her watch. Yep. It was waaaay too early in the morning for her to try and comprehend this nutcase. She'd try for nice and easy. "Kakashi and Asuma are staying at Kurenai's place—my place—as their punishment for doing a crap job of cleaning out my room. I got Kakashi's bed so I could have a place to sleep. It is five AM. I'm going back to bed. Good night," she closed the door on him again, propped the chair under the doorknob and went to the bed. As she was remaking the bed so she could hopefully sleep, she heard him thinking out loud in the hallway.

"So, if Kakashi's not here, that means that _you_ are alone…which means he _hasn't_ beaten me!! Ah hah! The battle begins here!! I shall now go across the road to challenge Kakashi for your affections! And I will not lose!!"

She listened to him stomp eagerly down the stairs and across the road to the house's unsuspecting occupants. Tiptoeing out of the bedroom, she entered the bathroom and splashed water in her face to clear the sweat that had accumulated from the most recent nightmare. The only way to make them go away was to kill the man causing them. He haunted the dark recesses of her mind and came forth when her mind was most unprotected. Now was not the time to go after him, however. She needed to train first, and she wanted to see if she could gather some reinforcements. Friends, perhaps. She'd see. She flopped back into bed, feeling slightly embarrassed for the condition of the sheets. They were crumpled and sort of damp now, and would definitely need to be washed before used again. She'd inform Kakashi before the day was through and perhaps see if she could wash them herself to repay him.

Rolling over, her nose found a corner of the pillow that hadn't been contaminated with her sweat that still smelled comforting. It was unnerving, but she kind of liked it; his smell massaged her sinuses and floated around in her head. Kumiko didn't really want to give in, but with no one around to watch her, she allowed herself to surrender to the security she felt.

Smiling softly, Kumiko drifted peacefully into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Kumiko…" Kakashi rapped on his own door for the third time. He'd tried opening it, but it appeared stuck, and if she wanted her privacy, that was fine…but it was ten AM.

Finally, he heard her stir, and then leap out of bed. The door suddenly opened and before him stood a slightly embarrassed girl with tousled hair, bags under her eyes, wearing a crumpled t-shirt and wrinkled pair of boxers.

"Sorry," she apologized, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, "I overslept. Give me ten minutes to be dressed." She shut the door in his face. Five seconds later she opened it again, "Right. I haven't any other clothes and I forgot to wash mine last night so I could wear them today…"

"Here, why don't you shower, then, and I'll go see if Kurenai can loan you something until you can get something of your own," Kakashi suggested.

Kumiko screwed up her face, trying to think clearly, "Right. Okay. Um, I'll wash your sheets for you sometime today, too. I didn't sleep well, so they're kind of a real mess."

"Oh, don't worry about it, I'll do it later. You've got more important things to do today than mess around with my sheets," Kakashi smiled.

"Riiight…Okay, then," she said while stumbling out of the room past him, and crashing into the bathroom. Kakashi noted that he liked the length of his boxers on her, and then peeked into his room to see how much of a mess was 'a real mess'.

Apparently, she was not far off. His cover was completely off of the bed, and the sheets were trying to follow it to the floor, but were still tucked in at the base of the bed. One of his two pillows was lying lengthwise at the head of the bed, as if she'd been lying on top of it, and the second one had ended up on the floor with everything else.

"Are you sure there was only one of you in bed last night?" Kakashi called to her in the bathroom.

"Sorry?" she called back.

"Nothing."

He scratched the back of his head and then started forward. May as well get the sheets into the wash as soon as possible so that they'd be properly dry for that night. He tugged out the sheet that was half on the floor and bundled it up in his arms before tossing it to the floor. He started to remove the bottom sheet when he stopped and gave the castaway sheet on the floor a second glance. Frowning, he bent over and picked it up. There was one smell on the sheets and it reminded him of roses, the forest of Konoha, and something else that he couldn't quite place but it was equally enticing…and he decided he didn't feel like washing it away just yet. Folding it back onto the bed, he pulled the cover up over the rest of the bed, rearranged the pillows, and voila. He'd change them later. He closed the door behind him, and left to find Kurenai for some clothing.

* * *

There was a knock at the bathroom door and Kumiko paused in conditioning her hair to listen. "Yes?"

"Eh…I'll just leave Kurenai's things outside the door, here. You can grab them when you're done. I'll be downstairs."

"Thanks, I'll be out in a few minutes."

Kakashi paused outside the door, wondering if he could time it right to come back up the stairs to grab something from his room right as Kumiko was opening the door for her things, but decided against it. That girl could kick ass, and after she'd had a long nights rest, he didn't feel like being on the receiving end of that.

Kumiko listened to him hesitate in the hallway briefly, wondering what he was thinking, before hearing him walk down the stairs. Resuming her washing, she noted that she'd buy her own shampoo soon. She smelled quite masculine, thanks to the boys not using girl's shampoos, and decided she'd find out if Kurenai had perfume she could overdose on until then.

Dipping her head back, the water spilled over her face and washed away the soap on her body and the conditioner in her hair. It ran in little vein-like streams down her body and pooled at her feet before running in the direction of the drain. When she was satisfied she'd rinsed away all of the soap, she wrung out her hair and shut off the water. She hunted around the bathroom for some sort of cream for her body. Normally, she didn't bother, but if she was going to treat herself to being _clean,_ clean then she was going to do it right. That included, at least, some sort of Vaseline for her legs, as she'd shaved for the first time in too long (men's razors, as far as she was concerned, were the same as women's except they weren't pink, purple, or sky blue, and they were cheaper, so she stole an unused one from the package in the messy cupboard).

Eventually Vaseline was the only thing she found. She wasn't surprised, as this _was_ a men's bathroom, but she certainly was disappointed. Something strawberry or vanilla smelling would have been nice, but in a pinch, Vaseline would do.

Finally, towel wrapped around her, Kumiko cracked the door open and bent down to grab her clothes. Her towel began to slip, but she was determined to grab everything, besides, Kakashi was downstairs, wasn't he? So, when the towel gapped, Gai decided that was the moment to open his door and head for the bathroom. He froze and stared, while Kumiko, reflex queen, threw her pair of socks at him, mashed everything to her body to prevent her towel from furthering its course off of her, and then slammed the door, quickly locking it. She could do without socks for now.

Gai remained frozen outside of the bathroom momentarily, replaying in his mind the image of the girl before him deciding there was no way she was merely human.

"Ka…Kakashi!!" he hollered, charging down the stairs, "We have an Angel in our bathroom! Come see!!"

Kumiko nearly snapped the bra she was fitting into as she listened to him thunder down the stairs. Was the man naturally on crack, or was he just that dumb?

Deciding to find out later, Kumiko focused on getting dressed. She was slowly feeling very self-conscious. Kurenai's bra pinched in places, but otherwise they were nearly the same that way, but her underwear pinched, too, her shirt was tight, and her pants were a little short. She didn't bother with the socks, as they were still out in the hallway, but staring at herself in the mirror, Kumiko felt huge. In fact, she felt massively uncomfortable. Sagging her shoulders, she opened the door, grabbed the socks, and then poked her head over the edge of the stairs.

"Um…Kakashi?"

Gai and Kakashi looked up. Gai pointed his finger, "See? It's the Angel!"

Kakashi smacked him upside the head.

Kumiko winced and tugged uncomfortably at the shirt, "I don't suppose I could borrow a pair of pants from you? And a shirt, maybe?"

Kakashi frowned, "How come? I placed them… You're wearing…"

Sighing, Kumiko placed her head in her hands momentarily before standing up and walking down the stairs to the landing. Kakashi took a good look at her.

'_Well, her shirt hugs her figure nicely, if not a little close at the neck; her pants, if not a little short, outline her hips agreeably and cling to her toned thighs…I don't see the problem…_'

"What's…the matter?" he asked.

All thoughts of embarrassment vanished and were replaced with popping veins and twitching eyebrows. "It's…too…tight…I…can't…move…!" she gritted through her teeth.

"It is? Oh…haha, sorry, it doesn't _look_ tight, so I had to ask. Right, um, come with me."

Kumiko's embarrassment returned as she noticed Gai looking at her like she was a goddess and said, "Before you come up, could you smack him with a pillow?"

Kakashi glanced at him and then obliged her.

* * *

Later that night, Kakashi was lying in his bed, door locked, with his hands behind his head. He was lying shirtless, and therefore without his mask, in the darkness reflecting on the day. Kumiko and Kurenai had gone out and they picked up a few essentials for Kumiko, and then Kurenai treated Kumiko to a new outfit. He, Kakashi, had gone to visit Hokage and collected Kumiko's earnings from her first mission and one of the vests for her. She was getting her own clothing and she had her own weapon pouches, so all she needed was the vest part of the uniform.

When Kakashi caught up to them, he, at first, only recognized Kurenai. Beside her was a young woman wearing a very flattering top, a pair of capris, and her ebony, near waist length hair was hanging loose. When she turned to him, his eyes widened as he realized it was Kumiko he was looking at. He smiled and complimented her, saying she should wear her hair down more often, to which she blushed and mumbled something about it getting in the way. He handed her the vest and her money and watched her eyes widen.

"Ooh, now we can go back and get you that shampoo you liked!" Kurenai had exclaimed, and they had left soon after.

Next, he, Asuma, and even Gai cleared out Kumiko's room _completely_. The room was empty, and their stuff was stacked _neatly_ in the other room next to Kurenai's. They were having a yard sale next week.

Kumiko seemed to be making an effort to warm up to them, but it also seems to be taking a lot of work on her part. She didn't trust anyone in the least, as far as he could tell, but it may also be that she was just unrealistically paranoid and shy. He also wanted her to understand that none of them were out to get her, except maybe Gai, but that was a little different.

Before falling asleep, he decided that the group of them would take Kumiko to the carnival that was coming to town in two weeks time. Perhaps she'd warm up to them a little more by then. Perhaps it would be fun.

He snorted. It wasn't like he liked carnivals, or anything, but, well, he hadn't been to one since he was young. It could be interesting.

* * *

Well…how was that for my second chapter? I'm kind of curious to how you all thought I did writing the fight scenes, so please let me know. Also, I'm not liking how Kumiko's nightmares are being written, but I don't really know how I can improve them. If you come up with any ideas, please let me know. As they progress, i'm either A.) going to write them better, or B.) merely make reference to the fact that she had them.

I'm also wondering how some of you thought I was working myself too hard (just in two of your reviews).Should I shorten my chapters? Make 'em longer? Structure them differently?Give me feedback!

Oh yes, and I'd like to say thank you to my editor (and sister) for all of her fabulous assistance. She helps with all of the touch ups, feeds me ideas, and gives me good suggestions, so huggles and kisses for her!

Cheers!

-Kirara

P.S. Merry Christmas, and Happy Boxing Day. Yes, I know I'm just a little late. Pretend I'm not.


	3. Mission!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Blah blah blah etc. etc. etc.

Author notes : Yea, so three months later… I'm sorry about the gap between chapter's two and three. I've had a very busy three months, between finals and grades and working two shows. One of the shows is (thankfully) finished, so now I'm just stage managing a musical that will finish at the end of April. Otherwise, I need to balance homework with working so updates will be few. They will not, however, be short. I never like posting a short chapter because usually that means it's a little unfinished, kind of rushed, and that makes me unhappy.

The beginning of this chapter is kind of dry, but I think that's mostly due to the fact that as soon as I finish a chapter, I like to start a half a page to a page of the next chapter to keep my train of thought. Let me know your point of view when you review.

* * *

Live, Laugh, and Love

Chapter Three

Mission!

* * *

The sun streamed in through Kumiko's window and she groaned as it woke her. Rolling over, she groaned again as her muscles strained, reminding her to treat them with care. The past week had been filled with training and Kumiko had known most of the exercises Kakashi was teaching his students, so she was able to assist them. Afterwards, however, the two of them had been fighting matches so that they could both improve on skills they wanted to work on.

Kumiko was slowly finding it more difficult to pin Kakashi, because the more moves she showed him, the more he learned and the sooner he learned to counter them. He was without a doubt one of the best jounin in Konoha. He was learning quickly and Kumiko often found that her plan to defeat him in a match was usually trashed because of something he pulled and more often than not she was flying by the seat of her pants trying to pull something out of the air to regain her control of the situation so she could beat him. Wednesday, Kakashi had spent time showing her secure ways to pin someone without killing them or severely injuring them. They practiced them, and then before parting, he reviewed with her new ways to knock someone out (they didn't practice knocking each other out. Heaven knows that would have been irritating). On Thursday they'd had one heck of a work out. Just when one thought they'd pinned the other, the other would pull an illusion trick and it would start all over again. In total, they'd only had two matches, both very long, with Kumiko barely being the victor of the first one. The second Kakashi insists he won, but Kumiko declared it a draw because they had both ended up panting on the ground and calling it quits for the night. Today was Friday, and Kakashi had said that they were going to sign up for a mission and that they were to meet him outside the red building at nine.

Kumiko glanced at her clock and groaned for the third time as she read '8:10' in blaring red numbers. She could make it in an hour if she hurried, but she also had to make lunch for her and Kurenai.

Rolling out of bed, she stumbled into the bathroom to start her day.

It was five minutes to nine when Kumiko was placing Kurenai's lunch into the fridge and her own into her day pack. She could hear Kurenai getting out of the shower, and Kumiko wandered up to the second floor to let Kurenai know she was leaving.

"Oh!" Kurenai looked at her in surprise, "You're hair is down!"

"Eh, not really," Kumiko said, fingering the long braid she'd left it in.

"But it is a nice change from its braided knot."

"Thank you. You're lunch is in the fridge, and I need to get going, otherwise I'm going to be late."

"Well, don't rush. It's not like Kakashi's going to be on time," Kurenai called as Kumiko left.

'_We'll see about that,_' Kumiko thought as she strode across the road to his dorm. She rapped on the door and was greeted by Asuma.

"Good morning, Kumiko. Would you like to come in?"

"Actually, I'm just wondering if Kakashi's almost ready to go," she told him pleasantly.

Asuma frowned, "I think he's still in bed."

Kumiko's pleasant face thinned. "…Really? Well last I checked, he's supposed to be meeting us in…" she peered at her new watch, "one and a half minutes."

"Really! Well, I shall give you the pleasure of waking him," he beckoned her in.

She skipped stairs up to his room, and before knocking, she poked into Asuma's room and snatched her weapon of choice for the fight: his pillow.

Knocking pleasantly, she waited. No response. She knocked a little louder and was rewarded with the sound of ruffling sheets and footsteps to the doorway. A sleepy Kakashi with tousled hair poked his head around the door wearing his shirt with the mask, his Konoha headband, and a pair of flannel, green pants decorated in sushi patterns.

"Eh? Kumiko? You look nice today," he said sleepily.

She buffed him in the face with the pillow.

"Oi!" he exclaimed, waking up a little faster, "What's this for?"

"What time is it, Kakashi?" she asked him sweetly.

"Um…" he glanced at his clock. "Nine?"

"And what _pressing_ engagement did you have at nine?"

"Uh…?"

He was rewarded with another thwack from the pillow.

"I believe you were meeting your subordinates somewhere at nine, weren't you?"

"Oh…right…"

"This will be the third time you've been late, this week," she reminded him, her voice a little frosty, while slowly backing him into his room, brandishing the pillow.

"Alright, alright, I'm going."

"You're going to be very late if you don't leave right now."

"Well, I'll be a little late."

"No, you won't," she said, still charming.

At his questioning and disbelieving glance, Kumiko seized his vest that was draped over the chair in his room, threw it at him, and grabbed him by the wrist and began to drag him down the stairs.

He twisted out of her hold with a simple flick of his wrist, and tried to escape back up the stairs to the safety of his room. Putting two hands around his ankle, Kumiko brought him down with a crash and then began to drag him down the stairs, his chin thumping against each step. Using his stomach muscles, he twisted himself around and used another grab release to get his ankle out of her grip.

Kumiko realized this wasn't going to work to her advantage…until she spotted a certain red book lying so innocently on the coffee table next to the couch in the living room. The book was, of course, anything but innocent…

'_I wonder how much these mean to him…_'

She plucked it off of the table, glanced at the cover to make sure she wasn't making a mistake, and then sang, "Kaka—ashi!" her voice holding all the innocence of a mass murderer holding a chainsaw.

His head appeared at the top of the stairs. "What?" he snapped.

"I think I'm going to go find a pond and see how this floats," she called, waving the book at him, other hand on the door knob.

His eye widened, "You! _Don't you dare!_"

"Bye!" She whipped open the door and slammed it behind her in her haste to put more distance between them.

She barely heard the door close before it opened again with Kakashi hot on her heels.

'_Excellent…_' she thought. '_We'll be there in no time!_' Bounding up onto a rooftop, she continued to run on top of the village, but became worried when she noticed him catching up. He wasn't usually faster than her and she glanced at the book in her hand. Flipping open the cover she noticed messy writing that read 'Property of Hatake, Kakashi' and in scrawling red ink under it was the author's autograph. An autographed copy. Well that would do it, perhaps.

Plunging suddenly from the roof, she landed in a back alley and then changed her direction, throwing Kakashi off.

'_Now where's she going? I thought she was going to the meeting spot. Darn it, I was catching up, too!_' he thought furiously. '_If anything happens to that book…!_'

For having lived there less than a week, Kumiko had a pretty good idea of the layout of the village. She kept taking turns to throw him off, but her goal was the red building.

They reached the building at ten after nine.

"I could have just gotten dressed, you know," Kakashi panted, his hair now wind blown _and_ tousled from bed, his pants slightly wrinkled. He held out his hand for his book.

"Yea, right," she slapped the book against his chest. "After you showered, ate your breakfast, combed your hair, and brushed your teeth."

"Kakashi-sensei, you're early," Sasuke said dryly, checking his watch.

"Whoa! He's up before eleven!" Naruto exclaimed.

"We soo owe you one, Kumiko-chan," Sakura gave her sensei a deadpanned look and then started giggling. "Kakashi-sensei, is that sushi?" she coughed pointing at his pants.

Kumiko pretended not to notice the murderous look the said man was shooting her. "I believe our mission is inside," she said matter-of-factly, starting into the building.

"Hey, I'm not going in there wearing sushi," Kakashi stated flatly.

Kumiko turned and gave him arched eyebrows. "Oh, you're not, are you?"

He clutched his book protectively, "No, I'm not."

She sighed, turning her back to him, formed a quick number of seals, and then turned back holding another of his books. He didn't have to know it was an illusion. She waggled Volume Two at him, just out of his reach.

"You! When did you get that?" Kakashi demanded.

Her eyes danced with mischief as she flung open the door to the building saying, "I'm going to go see if Hokage-sama has some kerosene and a match or two…"

"YOU—!"

"Bye!"

"ARGH!"

He chased after her into the building and Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke trailed eagerly behind.

The two of them crashed into the Request Room, Kakashi tackling Kumiko to the floor, her hand outstretched away from him.

"Mine!" he growled, stretching himself out as far as he could go to get it.

"Never!" she replied, grunting with effort at keeping him away from it.

"IT'S THE ANGEL!"

The two of them froze and slowly turned to see Gai with is subordinates.

"Kakashi, you pig, unhand her!" Gai demanded, scrutinizing them on the floor. Their position had gone unnoticed between the two of them as there was something larger at stake (to get or not to get the book), but with Kumiko underneath, lying on her back, one hand on Kakashi's wrist to drag him down, the other arm reaching way past her head with the book, and Kakashi on top, one arm struggling against Kumiko's grip, the other reaching as far up her as it could in attempt to snatch his prized possession, there was nothing PG about it from a bystander's point of view. Not to mention their legs were sprawled.

The two of them instantly became aware of themselves, froze, wondering what the heck to do, and then they both scrambled to get up. Kumiko was blushing profusely, completely embarrassed in a room full of strangers, and Kakashi was ticked for the same reason, his cheeks flushed. He snatched the book from Kumiko and she stuttered with slight surprise but let it go. He popped it into his pocket, and buttoned it closed. Kumiko dropped the spell and the book disappeared, without him noticing. Gai marched over to them, concerned for Kumiko and irritated at Kakashi.

"You aren't hurt, are you, Angel?" he asked, worried.

"Fine, fine," she waved him off.

"Kakashi, you should know better than to try and ravish a woman in plain sight!" he accused, hands on his hips.

"Oh get over yoursel—Ravish? You think I was? Oh please, I was not! And if I was, she bloody well deserved it! Why, she was almost _asking_ for it!" Kakashi spluttered in response, failing to regain his composure.

"You are acting very uncool, Kakashi. I hope you improve this so that you are still worthy enough to be my rival."

"Oh, go run a lap around the village, or something," Kakashi scowled.

Kumiko's chilly voice cut through their petty argument, "I believe Hokage-sama is waiting for us with our mission." She then turned her attention to Lord Hokage, who was watching the spectacle with a blank expression.

"I hope to see you around, Angel!" Gai said, loosing his disapproving attitude and trying to grin….charmingly, perhaps…

"Ugg…run me over with a tree…" Kumiko muttered.

The group approached Hokage-sama's table for their mission.

Hokage assessed the group. "…sushi, Kakashi?"

"Give us a damn mission," he snapped moodily.

Hokage gave a graceful shrug and hid his smile behind a cough and then looked down his list. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then looked up at them, all jokes gone. "Team seven, with the exception of Kumiko, you have accomplished 15 D rank missions and four C rank missions. You have all greatly improved and with the Kumiko's strong addition to your team, I have decided to assign you a B rank mission. You may of course think this over and let me know."

Naruto, in front, instantly whirled around to face Kakashi, begging and pleading loudly. Kakashi looked over every one of his teammates, from Sakura's nervous and excited eyes, to Sasuke's dark, challenging ones, to Kumiko's guarded ones. She stood back, indicating that she wanted no say in the decision, as it was entirely up to his evaluation. Kakashi thought it over briefly, knowing that Kumiko could possibly take on anything that came at them almost single-handedly and then nodded to Hokage-sama.

"We will accept this mission."

Naruto let out a victory cheer, and Sasuke's face held a satisfied smile. Sakura looked nervous, but Kumiko was sighing with relief. No more babysitting for this ninja!

Hokage nodded and then gave them their details. "Mr. Yamasashi, Kano is transferring something of great value from this country back to his, and I'm going to have you escort him to Kumogakure, the land of light and shadows."

"Why is it a B rank mission?" Sasuke asked.

Hokage nodded. "I was getting to that. The sand ninja are not friends of the ninja of light and shadows, however because they are our allies, they will not attack until you are outside Konoha. The level of attack is expected to be high, but I believe that your team is capable of handling this task." When nobody said anything, Hokage continued. "I suppose now would be a good time to introduce you to him," and at a nod of his head, a ninja standing next to the door, opened it, left briefly, and then returned, escorting a young man in his mid-twenties into the room.

"This is Mr. Yamasashi," Hokage told the group.

"Kano," corrected the man while smiling at the group. The first thing Kumiko noticed about the man was that he carried a sort of charm with him, from the short, blonde hair, to his cheerful hazel eyes, to his wide smile. His teeth gleamed white and they were surrounded by a pair of lips that seemed to know exactly how to give his face the right look. Right now his mouth was wide in a friendly grin, but when he favored Kumiko with another glance, his lips twisted to give her a more meaningful look. Kumiko blandly ignored it.

After you got over the fact that this man appeared to be comfortable being close to the center of attention, you noticed his height. He was taller than Kakashi's 5'10", but it didn't appear that it was because he had long legs or a large torso, he just seemed perfectly proportionate. Kumiko received the impression that Kano was used to having people scurry to do things for him, especially women, and she suspected that his friendly aura could also turn imposing and perhaps threatening if he saw it fit.

"Mr. Yamasashi," Hokage continued, "This is Hatake, Kakashi, the jounin leader of team seven."

Kano took his eyes off of Kumiko and tossed a smile at Kakashi while offering his hand to him, "A pleasure to meet you."

Kakashi smiled professionally back at him and shook his hand, "Indeed; allow me to introduce you to my team. This is Shichi, Kumiko," he said and Kano shook her hand too. She decided to give him a friendly handshake, but he ruined it by holding it longer than necessary. Strike two.

Kakashi finished his introductions. "This is Uzumaki, Naruto; Haruno, Sakura; and Uchiha, Sasuke." Kano shook each of their hands in turn.

"Mr. Yamasashi is a chunin ninja, since this spring," Hokage informed them.

Kano's smile thinned, and Hokage, deciding he'd perhaps mentioned a touchy subject, moved on. "He is hoping to leave before eleven, so, Kakashi, I will allow you to organize your team so you may depart."

Kakashi led the group out into the sunshine where the six of them formed a circle.

"Right," he addressed them, "what time is it currently."

"Time for you to get a watch," Kumiko muttered darkly, "with an alarm on it."

"Twenty after nine," Sasuke informed him.

"That leaves us just about an hour and a half to meet at gate 52," he calculated. "I'm going to estimate that our journey will be approximately four days there and another four days back."

Kumiko frowned. "Four days? I didn't think it was that far."

"Have you been there before?" Kakashi raised an interested brow.

"Well, no, but comparing it to other places I've been and the distance and time it takes to travel, I thought…"

Kakashi smiled, reminding her, "Ah, but we are traveling with genin, first of all, and second, with a chunin carrying something of value. We will not be traveling at your regular pace."

Kumiko nodded in understanding so Kakashi concluded the meet. "Gate 52 at 11:00," he said.

Sasuke's lips twisted into a smirk, "Are you sure you'll be ready on time, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi gave him a cool look but Kumiko answered for him. "He will be."

The group dispersed and as they were walking, Kakashi glanced at Kumiko and asked, "But will I be dressed?"

He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw mischief in her eyes as she said, "That, Kakashi, will be entirely up to you."

He shifted uneasily. "You won't be dragging me out of the shower," he stated. "That would be unfair. Sushi is one thing. Being stark naked is entirely another."

"I'll be sure to grab a towel before I haul you out into the streets."

Kakashi really didn't like how serious she sounded. He'd be showering _first_.

With that resolved, he decided that the best thing for his sanity would be to ignore her. Flipping open one of his pockets, he fumbled around for his book…only to discover it wasn't there. Glaring at Kumiko suspiciously, he possessively growled, "Where's my book?"

"What book?" she asked.

"Volume two," he gritted.

"Oh, that. There was no volume two," she replied honestly. There was something in her voice, he noticed, that he couldn't place it.

"What do you _mean_ there was no volume two?" he demanded.

"I mean your eyes must have been playing tricks on you."

Ah, he placed it. Amusement. She was amused with him.

Wait.

"It was an illusion," he stated, disbelieving his own idiocy.

"It was an illusion," she confirmed.

"I'm going to kill you one day."

"You just keep trying," she smiled, patting him on the arm.

* * *

Pulling together his lunch, Kakashi cursed. It was running late and he'd taken such a leisurely shower that he didn't have time to dry his hair. Well, normally he would have, but being _forced_ to leave with out a lunch would be bad. He could handle it, but it wasn't something he wanted to endure if he didn't have to. So most of his hair was still wet to the point of flopping down into his face, and he hated it when it did that. Kumiko was going to pay, he thought, scowling. Oh yes, someday she'd regret dragging him out of bed, stealing his book, and forcing him to run after it while still in his pajamas. His _sushi_ pajamas, no less! He'd managed to keep the secret to his dorm mates, but nooo! Anybody could blackmail him now! He could see it: The infamous Hatake, Kakashi! The Copy-ninja who has learned and copied over 2,000 moves and deals them back at his foes! Armed with his weapons, his deadly sharingan eye _aaaand_…sushi pajama pants… Oh yea, Kumiko was going to pay…

Almost on cue to that thought, there was an ominous knock…knock…knock…

Kakashi rolled his eyes and called, "Ha, ha, ha, very funny. Just come in; the door's unlocked."

The door opened soundlessly and he watched Kumiko poke her head around it, braid falling over her shoulder, blue eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Dressed?"

He glared.

"I hope you're _almost_ ready," she told him, removing her shoes and entering the living room.

"You better not attack me. I'm armed and dangerous, so there!" he smirked and waggled the butter knife in his hand at her.

She gave him an exasperated look. "It's a good thing I know you know that a measly knife like _that_ isn't actually going to stop me," she said while she stepped up into the kitchen.

He twirled it with his fingers before running it under water and dropping it into the sink. He figured trying to prove her wrong would waste time and be childish (not to mention the possibly embarrassing outcome). Wrapping up his sandwich, he changed the subject, asking, "So where's your pack?"

"Pack?" She looked up from her glance out the window.

The one eye that wasn't under the mask slid its gaze off of the sandwich and on to her. "Yes. Pack. It's what people carry their things in when they're going somewhere for an extensive period of time."

"Ooooh…" she nodded up and down as if this was an entirely new concept to her.

"Tell me you brought at least _one_ pair of extra clothing? A pair of pajamas? Toothbrush? Comb?"

She rolled her eyes. "Relax, it's in the hall."

His eye slid its attention back to watching what he was doing with the sandwich. "I was only wondering because you showed up in Konoha with nothing except for what you were wearing. How was I to know that you didn't travel that way all of the time?"

She gave him cool eyes. "Well, I did have to borrow Kurenai's bag because I don't have one of my own, but yes, I do like to pack if I can."

There was a moment of silence as he zipped up his pack and pulled it over his shoulders. "_There_. I'm _ready_."

Her face showed mock surprise, "It's a miracle!"

"What _now, _huh?"

She laughed as her eyes flicked to the clock on the wall. "It's a good thing because in another thirty seconds you'd have been leaving either way," she smiled brightly.

He rolled his eyes but couldn't help finding himself grinning and shaking his head at her expression. "Let's go."

She grabbed her bag and slid her shoes on, and then they left for gate 52.

Kakashi cocked his head in thought as they headed out the door. They'd gone from laughing at each other to laughing with each other. It was weird and it seemed to happen now and then. Well, as much as now and then can happen within a week. He was taking his time deciding whether or not he liked it. It was like certain things, motions, sayings could disperse Kumiko's mood to something completely different at times when you'd least expect it. He still didn't know what buttons to press to change her mood. But it was almost becoming a game to figure it out. She was so different and almost fascinating that he wanted to learn about her, to find out what she was really like. It would have been easier if she didn't have her distrusting guard up all the time and he almost wasn't sure if her expressions were real or not because he knew so little about her, but the way her mood changed had to be real. Something that appeared so random and almost without explanation could not be controlled like that, he thought. So how did he expect to find out who she really was? Time. Only time would reveal all along with patience and practice.

"We'd better hurry up," Kumiko spoke, interrupting his thoughts.

He nodded and together they started into a jog that ended up a race to the gate on the other side of town.

The two of them fell into the clearing surrounding the gate struggling and fighting to gain the upper hand. Kakashi suddenly flipped around and kneed Kumiko in the stomach, winding her, and then he scrambled for the gate exit, crossing it while cackling loudly.

"HAHA! I WON! I BEAT YOU AT SOMETHING! I AM GOD!" He bellowed.

"Very nice, Kakashi-sensei," a dry Sasuke said from his seat next to the gate.

Kakashi turned, saw Sasuke, cleared his throat, and then packed his glee inside of him so as not to embarrass himself further.

Kumiko, her breath returning to her steadily, clapped for him. Of course, her clap was mocking, and the rotten look she was sending him left no room for doubt about that. Something protruded from the mask and Kumiko frowned at him.

"Kakashi…are you pouting?"

His eyes widened and then he grinned, saying, "Wow, you're the first person to get that."

She arched her eyebrow, "You know, everyone would get it if you didn't wear that mask. Why wear it, anyways?"

"…I have a permanent case of the mumps. My face below my nose is bumpy."

"Uh huh, try again. The mask is skin-tight. I don't see no mumps."

"Err, there are red splotches all over my mouth and it's, uh, horrifically embarrassing."

She smirked at him, "Well, suffocating your face can't be healthy for them."

Sakura entered the clearing, followed by Naruto and Kano as Sasuke said, "He's just a prude. He doesn't want anybody to see his face. Sort of the same way that you wouldn't take off your shirt for everybody."

Kumiko gave Kakashi a look.

He sniffed. "It's _my_ face."

"A prude who reads porn?" she asked.

"I never said I was consistent…and I can show it to whomever I feel like. And so far, that would be Asuma, and the two people who work at the ramen stand. _They_ are sworn to secrecy because they know that if I find out they told anybody, I won't eat ramen at their stand."

"So basically, you're just trying to make yourself appear special and significant because only a select few people have seen what you look like when in reality, you're just a spoiled, immature grown-up who feels insignificant."

"Ouch," he told her.

She gave him an 'I'm-a-pain-in-the-ass' smile.

"And yet waaaay too close for comfort," he added.

"That's what makes me special," she said flippantly. "Okay, everybody's here. Let's go."

* * *

"Kakashi, just look at a friggen map," Kumiko berated him.

"We are not lost!" he insisted.

"Yes, we are! Look, it's not going to bite you."

"It might."

"Then why'd you pack it?"

"Because I knew you'd be ticked off if I didn't."

"Well, I'm pretty ticked off that you aren't using it!"

"Back off! I'm your leader! You will obey my every command!" he told her while pointing his finger at her.

The entire group raised an eyebrow.

"Dream on," she rolled her eyes. Smacking him over the head, she relieved him of his pack and rummaged through it. A minute later, she was frowning. "Please, oh please tell me this isn't your 'map'." She pulled it out.

He glanced at the tiny, palm-sized card in her hand and began to sweat. "Um…that isn't my map?"

"Then where is it," she delivered him a withering glare.

"Eh heh heh…heh…heh?"

Kumiko stopped and counted to three. When a map didn't materialize in front of her after that, she decided to go to ten.

Kano interrupted her count to smooth things over. "I brought a larger map that you may find of use, Kumiko-san."

Kumiko opened her eyes and gifted him with a grateful smile. She walked over to where he was pulling it out.

Kakashi sent a glare in their direction as Kano and Kumiko figured out where they were.

Sakura wandered up to her sulking teacher. "Kakashi-sensei…it was just a map, you know."

"Yea, well, I actually forgot to pack one. The itty bitty one was in there by pure chance."

"…oh…" She returned his glance, "how very 'always-be-prepared' of you."

He pursed his lips and shrugged as he got up. "So?" he asked the two who were pouring over the map, "where are we?"

"We are…estimating…that we're right about…here," Kano stabbed his finger at the map.

Kakashi frowned. "We can't be all the way out _there_!"

"I _told_ you we're lost," Kumiko said.

Kakashi glared at the map as if it was all its fault. Then he clapped his hands and said, "Great. Let's adjust our directions and get going."

Kano rolled up his map while Kakashi swung his backpack over his shoulders.

* * *

The rest of the day passed uneventfully until seven o'clock when they were setting up camp.

Sakura had been assigned first dinner so as she was preparing it, everyone set up camp.

While her face remained blank, Kumiko's insides were beginning to boil with frustration. Anywhere she moved her sleeping bag to, Kano found some sort of reason to lay his close to hers. It was really beginning to grate on her nerves. First, she laid it next to Sakura's and he plopped it down next to hers. When she decided she didn't like the location, she moved it to the other side of the fire pit and settled. When Kano moved next to her, she became suspicious. She scooted twenty yards away while Kano sat on his bag. She sighed with relief as she found her suspicions were just her imagination, until he stood, lifted his bag, half-heartedly kicked at a stone that had been underneath him, and moved next to her again. Screwing up her face with irritation, she announced she was going for a walk and left before anybody could protest.

She took off at a run and allowed her body to navigate itself through the forest. Releasing her anxiety, she allowed herself to breath and focus on the run. She loved the forest and if she opened herself up to it, it accepted her. She flowed between the trees, dodging branches, weaving around trunks, until she leapt up into the branches. The wind was stronger up in the leafy tops of the forest, but she allowed it to dance around her and used it to improve her speed. Pushing herself, she cleared the treetops and was rewarded with a million dollar view of the multicolored sunset.

The pure sky was interrupted with scattered blobs of clouds that were reflecting the sun's color to the best she'd seen in a very long time. The oranges, yellows, peaches, and reds surrounded the sun, while the clouds glowed purple and were surrounded by a rosy-pink hue. The shades stretched back in the sky until they faded into an approaching midnight blue.

Kumiko landed her jump and then headed towards a tree that rose above the rest. Draping herself across the high branches that would support her, she sat with her back against the trunk and took the scenario in. The villages, with all of their electric lights, didn't allow anyone to appreciate the beauty that nature gave them anymore. The cities just didn't give that kind of opportunity.

* * *

WhileKumiko sat up there, lost in her thoughts, Sakura was beginning to serve dinner.

"Someone should go find Kumiko," she announced, "cause I'm serving now."

"I'll go," Kano offered. "I'm an excellent tracker."

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I will. It's not that I doubt your tracking skills, it's just that you're the client and we're the ninja. It actually is in my job description to keep my team together. I'll be right back." He turned towards Sakura, "Don't wait up for us. Go ahead and serve."

With that he left in the direction Kumiko had gone in, and he followed her trail.

Kano shrugged and then turned for his food. Sakura politely served him first, after shoving Naruto aside, and then he sat against a tree.

"So, what do you know about Kumiko?" he asked the three genin, "If you don't mind my asking, that is."

The three of them glanced between each other in silent agreement of being wary of him before Sasuke shrugged and said, "Not much. She's new to Konoha."

"Really?" he raised his eyebrows, "Where's she from?"

Frowning, Sakura replied, "We don't really know. She showed up about a week ago and Hokage-sama attached her to our team. She's really nice."

"What's your background?" Sasuke asked, wondering if he'd be helpful or evasive.

He shrugged. "I've grown up in Kumogakure and lived there for most of my life," he said. "I understand Kumiko hasn't ever been there before. Do you know where she has visited?"

When the three of them innocently shook their heads, he inwardly growled, '_So much for milking information out of the kids. Maybe Kakashi knows more about her…_'

* * *

When Kakashi finally found Kumiko, he spotted her from a distance. She was sitting in a very tall fir tree facing the last rays of the sun, and she seemed to be…well, he couldn't quite say. She would make hand seals of different sorts and then things would appear in the palm of her hand. First, small, narrow ribbons of light, like the northern lights, appeared to be floating around in a ball, just hovering above her hand. The ribbons would shift length or color until the image eventually changed completely into a ball of rainbow colored flame. The fire was raging inside of the ball and it slowly changed to solid colors from blue, to green, to red. When it flickered and died, she frowned.

Without giving it further notice, she formed another set of seals, and a tiny, translucent dancer appeared in her palm. The dancer had ribbons and was twirling around until the dancer became a ballerina. The ballerina became a gymnast and the gymnast morphed into a cat, which rolled around in her hand. She had been staring at the images with such concentration but when the cat appeared, she gave it an affectionate look but the image abruptly dropped. Pouting, she yet again formed seals and a butterfly materialized.

She seemed to be having fun and her exercises appeared to take a great deal of concentration, but, well, he was hungry and it was twilight now. The color-changing butterfly was shifting into a beautiful bird with long tail feathers and a broad wing-span when he landed next to her, nearly giving her a heart attack.

He was very startled at the speed she'd pressed him against the tree with a kunai-knife at his throat.

Her eyes widened five seconds later as he made gargling noises in his throat and she pulled the knife away. "Geeze, Kakashi, don't _do_ that to me!"

"Don't do that to _you_? _I_ was the one with a knife at my throat!"

"That's because you startled me."

"What, so if anything gives you a shock, they have the possibility of becoming impaled?" he demanded.

"Look," she explained, "we're in the woods, it's dark now, I really wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, so yea, I'm a bit jumpy."

"Jumpy? Try knife-happy."

She rolled her eyes somewhat miserably, "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to almost slit your throat. I'll try to not do it in the future."

"Great. I'm sorry I startled you. I'll try to not do it in the future."

"Wonderful."

He nodded, collecting himself. "Okay. Sakura is serving dinner."

She frowned, "Oh yea. Dinner. Right. Okay, let's go."

"You forgot about dinner?"

"Well I don't often eat regularly when I travel. Money's an issue, there isn't often a sandwich stand lying around in the middle of a bog or a desert, you know. That kind of thing."

"Ah. Well, you should also make it a general rule to be back at camp by dark, okay?"

"Sure. I just got carried away," she explained.

"Yea, what were you doing there, anyways?"

Shrugging, she said, "Burning chakra."

He widened his eyes, "Why on earth would you want to do that?"

"It's kind of private," she muttered.

"Ah, well as your team leader I solemnly swear not to share this information with anybody except for Hokage-sama."

She gave him an incredulous look. "Whoa, what makes you think I'm going to share this information with you?"

He faltered. "Well, you got as far as saying that you were burning chakra, so I was presuming you were going to go on…And when you informed me it was private, I thought that meant I wasn't to tell anybody else."

She sighed exasperatedly and then narrowed her eyes seriously at him. "Fine. Understand, however, that if I find out you've so much as breathed a word to someone else about this, I may just have to hunt you down."

"Hunt me down and do what?" he teased.

"Kill you," she told him, and looked him in the eye when she said it.

He blinked and then said, "I'm not so sure I'd like to know what it is now… …Of course that was likely your intent, correct?"

She pursed her lips. "Correct."

He smiled, "Good, so what is it?"

Glancing around nervously, she mumbled, "I have a bit of a disability."

His eyebrows rose in surprise, "A disability? What sort of disability?"

"A chakra disability."

He motioned for her to go on.

"My chakra doesn't stop building," she explained. "It's constantly recharging so if I don't use it up and just keep its level down, my body itches and aches."

"And this is embarrassing/terrible…why?"

"Kakashi, you don't know a thing about the kind of life I've lived. The kind of _toothpaste_ I use could be dangerous information. Actually, it nearly killed me once, but that's a story for another time."

"Oh. So if I ask you how much chakra you use up to burn and how much you can hold, you likely won't tell me?"

"Correct. The only person who knows is me. And one other person, but that other person doesn't know because I wanted them to know. And I'm not going to tell you who it is, before you ask."

He pouted. "So basically, you think that if I had that information, I'd use it to plot your demise?"

"You could."

"Why would I want to?"

"I don't actually know you that well to be able to tell."

"Ah."

"Anyways, I'm hungry, so let's go back and eat," she concluded. "And please don't tell anyone."

He smiled softly, "I promise."

* * *

When Kumiko woke the next morning, she felt things were…wrong… Casually, with her eyes closed, she scooted her arms further under her pillow until she grasped both hands around the two knives she had laid there the previous night. Slowly opening her eyes, she glanced around; the fire was out, Sakura was leaning dozily against a tree, waiting for the end of her watch and for the day to start, and the rest of the group was still sound asleep.

Groaning, she pulled herself out of her sleeping bag, waved a 'good morning' to Sakura, and then stumbled into the foliage towards the closest stream to wash up. 100 yards from camp, she could hear the water gurgling and in a few minutes, she was upon it. Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out two throwing stars.

"Right," she called out loud, "I know both of your locations exactly, so you can either pretend you didn't hear me, or you can come on out."

Any bystander would, of course, assume she was talking to herself, and by the silence that the woods rewarded her, so would anyone who was involved.

She sighed, "Fine. Have it your way."

Whipping the stars into two different locations, she followed one into a leafy tree, already forming a doppelganger jutsu. Pulling out a knife, Kumiko was ready for the punch that was aimed at her. She blocked it, thrusting her knife with her other hand, only to have it countered. The two of them fell into a close combat of punches, kicks, and weapons. When she pinned him, she tipped him backwards and slammed his head into the tree. She felt her two doppelgangers go out when they were both hit, and she was ready for the other opponent.

Working with her illusion techniques, she soon had him dodging around imaginary trees, and then dropping them when he tried to land on them. He surprised her when he began countering the illusion and she found he was getting close to her. It was then that she saw his forehead protector. She had thought it odd that they were being attacked while still in Konoha, but when she got a look, she found that her opponents were not of the sand. What was etched in the gleaming metal made Kumiko turn pale and she decided to stop playing around. Dropping all the illusions she had created, she charged at him. He was surprised at her sudden change of tactics and was scared when he found himself pinned to the tree, next to his partner's dead body, with a knife poking at his jugular vein.

"Okay," she hissed into his ear, "I'm not even going to bother asking who sent you because it's pretty obvious. When I let you go, you're going to go back to him, and tell him that I don't appreciate him sending assassins after me. If he chooses to ignore me, I'll come after him, and I'll kill him. Do I make myself clear?"

He gargled, trying to get her to lighten the pressure on his throat, but she sneered, "Don't be silly. You can still talk."

Glaring at the tree he was facing, the ninja said, "We were sent to recapture you, not kill you. Soon there'll be too many of us. You won't prevail."

She poked his throat with the knife, resisting the urge to laugh at his rehearsed line, making him hiss as she said, "But until then, you're going to give him my message."

When he nodded, she released him, ready to fight incase he changed his mind. When he took off, however, she relaxed feeling his presence slip away from her radar.

* * *

Kakashi opened his eyes to the sound of Sakura preparing breakfast.

"Where's Kumiko?" he asked her, rubbing the sleep out of his eye.

Sakura pointed out to the woods.

He nodded and then wandered out to the stream after her. When he got there, he paused. Kumiko was bent over, washing her face in the stream, which could have been normal. But there was a dead body lying twenty feet away at the base of a tree.

She looked up then, and whipped her head around. When she spotted him, her eyes lost the tension that had been there but she didn't smile. "What time is it? Is the group up?"

"Kumiko…there's a dead ninja over there…"

She ignored him as she thought about things. "Crap, let's go back to camp, Kakashi."

"We shouldn't be receiving any attacks yet." He walked over to the body and frowned. "Wait, this isn't a sand ninja…Kumiko, what—?"

"It's a personal attack, Kakashi, and soon there'll be more of them. We need to break up camp and move, now."

* * *

Well, there you go. Part of the reason this chapter took so long was because I hit a short bout of writers block half way through and then also because I had no idea how I was going to creatively end the chapter. So, finally I figured it out and there it is. Please let me know how you think Kumiko's character is developing. Do you like her? Is she consistent? What can I do to improve her and the other characters? Let me know; drop a review!

Kirara


	4. Victim

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters here, except for Kumiko. She's mine.

Okay, chapter four! Sorry it took so long. I've had a long bout of writers block, school work (during school), and work work (during summer). Summer is over, school is starting (started today, actually shudder) but I'll try to find time between math, psychology, and health. There are more notes at the bottom of the chapter, so enjoy the chapter and then please read them.

* * *

Chapter Four:

Victim

* * *

Kakashi glanced up as Kumiko appeared behind the group. He'd stopped trying to ask what was going on between her and the dead ninja in the clearing because every time he tried, she'd either disappear, or she'd somehow change the subject away and he'd only notice several minutes and four topics later. She apparently thought she'd screwed up something somehow and was now busying herself to keep the group out of danger. Well, that was just fine with him. Right? Right. He only wished she'd let him in on what was going on.

"All clear," she told him, before walking at the back of the group.

Frowning, he resumed his steady pace at the front, his attention being divided between observing the immediate area and the curious questions from the kids.

Behind him, Kumiko pulled out her water satchel and uncapped it. She'd pretty much been scouting 50 yards around the group since morning, pausing only briefly to check in with Kakashi. There had been no signs of any pursuers or ambushers but then she hadn't really expected any yet. Possibly tomorrow. In fact, it was very unlikely that there would be any more pursuers that day but she was feeling the need to keep herself busy and active to wear off some of the anxiety that was growing.

She was splashing water down her neck as Kano dropped back to where she was.

"You've been pretty busy. Should the rest of us be expecting any attacks?" he cocked his eyebrow at her.

"No, but we're getting very close to the border. I'm making sure they don't cheat," she told him.

"Cheat?" he asked with the air of mild interest. His eyes, she noticed, held more green than brown, but they held no depths. He was shallow, aware of himself and objects that interested him. She hoped she wasn't becoming one of those objects.

She looked him directly in the eye. "Yes, cheat. As in, crossing into Konoha to attack us."

He gave her a light, confident smile. "We'd be alright in the event of an attack, though, right? I mean, your team must be fairly good to have received this mission."

"Of course. It's our job to make it alright," she said without feeling, and then she picked up her pace so she could talk to Kakashi.

"We're fairly close to the border," she stated.

"I'd say about an hour. Are you going to scout ahead again?"

"I think I might. I'll be back within a half an hour." She took off at his nod.

Running through the trees at a 45 degree angle from the group to the right, she ran for five minutes before making a turn to the left and arching in a circle. She observed everything, from the direction of the sun, to the way the wind was blowing, to the frequency of the birds chattering. Everything was normal. She continued her run, her senses sweeping the territory. When she was a five minute run from the group, she made her turn 45 degrees to rejoin them with a positive report, when a snapping twig caught her attention. She continued her run as if she didn't notice anything, before she concealed her presence and hid in the treetops. Her eyes scanned the area, noticing nothing out of the ordinary. Frowning, she strained her ears, hearing nothing until the faint rustle of leaves. Noting the sound's position, she focused her attention there before letting it take in everything else. Wary of her surroundings, she left the tree and crept forward on the ground, eyes and ears straining.

Another snap of a twig called her attention to a clearing hidden behind trees. She snuck forward, taking care to not make the same mistake of snapping unnoticeable twigs. Peering through the branches of a fir tree, her eyes roved the clearing before finding the source of the noise.

Feeling rather silly when she found a male deer having its lunch, she watched it strain its neck up the tree and pull another strip of bark off of it with a snap and then chew on it. Rolling her eyes at herself, she turned and made the run back to her group with an 'all clear'.

* * *

Seven o'clock came and the team began to set up camp again. They'd passed a small village previously that day and Kumiko, picking a few things up at the small market, had volunteered dinner for that night. Kakashi noticed the way she lightened up as she began to stir the different vegetables and meats into the soup she was making. The smell began to drive him crazy as she continued to stir in a multitude of spices and ingredients so when she turned away to reprimand Naruto for putting a frog in Sasuke's sleeping bag, he darted a hand in and stole a piece of chopped meat. What he hadn't counted on was the meat to have absorbed as much broth as it had. When Kumiko turned back around to tend to the soup, she found Kakashi staring guiltily at her with soup dribbling down his mask.

"Hey," she exclaimed, "it's not ready yet, you thief!"

He swallowed the meat in his mouth. "You're right. Could use a little more pepper."

She swung at him and he dodged. "You stay away! I'll _tell_ you when it's done!"

When he stalked off, Kumiko resumed her stirring and tasting, muttered under her breath, and then added a hint more pepper. Finally she declared it ready, and began spooning the concoction into bowls and passing them around. When Kakashi failed to appear, against Kumiko's expectations, she followed a trail to find him. The stream she had knelt by previously that morning had fed into a slightly larger river, and Kakashi was currently bent over the river, trying to wash the soup stain out of his mask. It was an opportunity she couldn't resist.

She walked up casually behind him, and he, recognizing her footsteps, saw no need to worry, so when he toppled head-first into the slow moving river, he was unpleasantly surprised.

"Face cleaned yet?" she asked when all he did was splutter.

When she heard "Yes," muttered into her ear, she was startled but reacted quickly. A hand at her back shoved her off-balance, but she twisted and grabbed the hand that had pushed her. Instead of stopping her fall, the real Kakashi tumbled with her by accident. They both ended up in the river.

Furious that she'd fallen for such an obvious trick, Kumiko dunked Kakashi under and held him there until he began to flail. He gaped like a fish when his head bobbed to the surface and Kumiko was already hauling herself up onto the bank, grumbling as she went.

"Ugg, my hair is soaking wet and it's going to be _dark_ soon! It'll never dry!" she complained.

"Huh," Kakashi scoffed from where he was swimming to the bank. He was watching her wring her braid out, noting the strands of hair plastered to her face and wondered what the heck she was worried about. She was an image of childish pity and yet still an eyeful for the average raging-hormone teenager. And 26 year-old ninjas.

He hauled himself out of the water. "At least you still look decent with wet hair. I look like something the cat dragged in," he argued. He shook his head around and the water from his sopping wet hair flew everywhere.

"Ack! Stop that!" she squealed as the droplets splashed on her. He glared at her through his hair, which was now hanging in his eyes in strands instead of in a curtain.

"Well don't glare at me!" she told him, slightly affronted. She wondered why she felt as though an electric current had just stopped her heart briefly and then somehow twisted her stomach at the same time.

"And why not? I believe it was your idea to push me in in the first place."

"Yea, but that was a doppelganger, not the real you," she said, still slightly flustered, but regaining confidence, "The fact that you planned it in the first place makes me the victim. You actually falling in was an unplanned but fortunate event."

"_What!_"

"Yes," she nodded, self-esteem back and flowing, "and even so, being the female automatically makes me the victim in any situation."

"_WHAT_!" he shook himself, "You a victim? Hah! It's not _my_ fault you were so confident that you failed to check your surroundings. And how'd you manage to miss the fact that you pushed a doppelganger? You _always_ seem to know!"

"Yea, well, it's not my fault you lost your balance so easily," she grumped.

They were silent for a moment before Kakashi looked at her and said, "You know? As ninja's, sometimes we just suck."

"Yea," Kumiko agreed without really listening. He'd looked her squarely in the eye and something in that moment hit her right between the eyes. Her confidence plummeted again somehow and she suddenly felt very self-conscious. She was looking at his damp form and was wondering why he was complaining. He didn't exactly look like a mess. His hair kind of hung around his face, a little bit in his eyes, but it gave him a little bit of a… If anything it… Shoot, what was she trying to say…

'_I'm blushing,_' she realized, eyes widened in horror. '_…But I don't… Oh geeze… This could get bad if he notices…_'

"Is dinner ready?"

"Huh?" She asked, still half in her thoughts. She wandered over to the river's edge. '_But what could have…the hair? …Yea…definitely the hair…_' she decided …but just to be sure…

"I asked if dinner was ready," he repeated, following her.

"Hmm…" she said and suddenly her arm shot out and Kakashi found himself in the river again.

"What the heck was that for!" Kakashi spluttered and shouted when he resurfaced.

'_Aw crap. No doubt about it,_' she confirmed.

"Dinner's ready," she called as she walked away.

* * *

Of all the—!

Kakashi dragged himself out of the water _again_ and proceeded to dry out his hair a_gain_.

What the heck was up with her?

He frowned. He knew by now that she wasn't really a sore loser… But that was the only reason he could think of as to why she had to have the last word. He checked around him and listened. When he was confident that no one was watching, he removed his vest and then, after one last check, pulled off his shirt with his mask. In all of five seconds, the shirt was pulled off, wrung out, and then back on him.

He stalked away from the river and back towards camp, thinking that her behavior had better not become a habit.

Sasuke briefly looked up when Kakashi returned and shrugged to himself. When Kumiko had returned, soaking wet, she'd said nothing, a light frown on her face. She'd sat down and begun eating. Nobody said a word, since she clearly had not wanted to explain. Kano, he'd noticed, had looked at her a little more lingeringly than he, Sakura, or Naruto, but she did, he decided, merit a look or two. From the point of view of an adult male whose IQ dropped every time he saw something with big eyes and breasts, she was probably the vision of his dream. Strong, athletic, young, pretty, maybe even beautiful, but even Sasuke knew that Kano wouldn't be able stand her for too long. She could look after herself and Kano struck him as a 'hero,' always needing to be thanked for the actions he did, and Kumiko wasn't one to give thanks where it wasn't merited.

When Kakashi, however, returned, Sasuke had not found it odd that he was in the same condition as Kumiko. If one of them had ended up in the river, the other would have likely ended up there, too. It was just the way in seemed to work between the two of them. They'd argue and fight but it was never anything serious; just enough to get on the other's nerves without causing damage. Sakura's face had held something of amusement when Kakashi had returned but she tried to hide it by sticking another spoonful of soup in her mouth. Naruto, oblivious and unobserving as always, _had_ to speak up. Everyone else would have a silent understanding but he had to vocalize and clarify.

"Why are you guys both wet?" he asked, confused and suspicious. Tactless as always.

Kumiko's eyes narrowed, and then she sniffed, "I was pushed into the river."

Naruto then looked at Kakashi, who also sniffed, "I was pulled into the river."

Still confused, he asked, "How'd you guys manage that?"

They both glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Kumiko spoke. "He pushed me into the river and I tugged him in after me."

"Only after you pushed in my doppelganger."

"Hmph, at least _I_ didn't end up in the river _twice_."

"Yea, but you're better than I am. You have no excuse."

"At least I wasn't obviously caught with food slopping down my mouth," she hissed.

"Slopping! It wasn't really _sloppi—_"

"And that was just down-right clumsy!" she finished triumphantly.

His eye glinted dangerously at her and she had only nanoseconds to contemplate this before he was beside her and hauling her up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Kumiko found herself being given an upside-down view of his butt and tried her best to ignore it.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, kicking her legs uselessly in the air, pounding her fists into his back.

"Finding a win-win situation, of course," he responded, setting off towards the river. She tried to twist out of his grip but he rolled her momentum too far for her and retained his strong grip.

"What's _that _supposed to mean? Win-win? You _lose _loser!" she yelled, still scrambling to free herself and embarrassingly failing.

"Yes. And now I'm going to win," he replied, sickeningly cheerful.

"But—but my hair! I'm trying to let it dry! You horrible person! _Put me down!_" She began to awkwardly scramble out of her vest so it wouldn't get wet again. Its pockets were water-proof, but it's hard to swim with extra bulk. She tossed it to the ground as Kakashi emerged from the woods to the river bank.

"No!" she hollered, "I refuse to be thrown into the river." She latched her arms around his middle.

He sighed, "You are absolutely right. I would have much rather just tossed you in, but I supposed watching you suffer with wet hair that will take much longer to dry than mine is worth getting wet one more time."

Kumiko's eyes widened and she latched on tighter as Kakashi jumped.

He let go of her when he jumped in so when her knees hit the surface, she flipped harmlessly out of the way. He did a few strokes away from her incase she had the sudden urge to try drowning him again. When he swam to the surface, he was rewarded with a mouthful of water splashed at him and Kumiko glowering and hollering at him.

"_You're horrible, do you know that? Just awful! I hope you curl up and die and buzzards feed off of your remains! I hope keel over with a heart attack and explode! Just you wait! You'll be walking along and BOOM! You're kidneys will have turned green and your stomach will have shrunken to the size of a beetle! And you sure as heck had better watch what you eat because you may find _worms_ in your soup! Poisonous worms! You hear? Poisonous worms!"_

He stared at her and felt his mouth twitch into a smile. He was glad she couldn't see it because it probably would have frustrated her to the point of violence, but he really couldn't help it. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed and her calm collected voice was, for a change, loud and rich. He just hung there in the water and looked at her. She was splashing her hands into the water to emphasize her points and was sending sheets of it at him in irritation.

"…_and your children's children! And their children, too! And you'd better not sleep too soundly because you may wake up to find yourself dangling by your ankle in a tree! A tree filled with toxic ants! And your hair will be orange and shaved to be an inch short…_"

My, she was creative. He may actually need to watch his back unless he made it up to her. And as much as he wanted to watch her shout herself silly at his expense, because he found she was a site when she was angry, it wasn't doing them any good that she was alerting the entire forest of their position.

"_...Purple! Do you hear? Purple!_" She paused to take a breath.

"Kumiko, dear, are you nearly finished? Because," he continued when she opened her mouth to retaliate, hellfire burning in the depths of her icy eyes, "the sun is setting and you are giving away our location."

"I dunno, Kakashi," Naruto said from the bank, "there may have been a few people a thousand miles away who didn't quite catch what she said…"

Her eyes narrowed to slits and she ignored Naruto. One pest was enough for now. "I am well aware that the sun is setting, Kakashi, because I am going to be stuck with damp hair for the rest of the night," she hissed.

"Well, let's stoke the fire a little so that you can dry your hair?"

"Let's," she snarled and shoved water at him again.

* * *

Kumiko couldn't sleep. Her sleeping bag wasn't comfortable, her body was too warm but the air was too cold, the crickets were too loud, and Kano was snoring. And her hair was damp. Which made her head cold. Everything irritated her. She glared up at the sky; Kakashi's hair had probably dried. His was shorter.

Rolling over, she figured it was for the better. She couldn't believe how she'd lost it with him that evening. He'd merely gotten her hair wet, much to her ire, but it wasn't like he'd killed a kitten or anything. It was unfair. She was being distracted by him, but was it because of the way he looked, or the way he was? Or a mixture of both? Didn't really matter. The best way to hide it was to be pissed at him. Permanently. Or maybe not. But regardless, it had felt very refreshing to whip him with her vocal chords. Yelling whatever came to mind at the top of her lungs after so much time of carefully keeping her thoughts under wraps had felt so good…but the underlying emotion that had helped provoke it couldn't go on. It was dangerous to think with a heart instead of a mind. Plus, broken hearts hurt.

Kumiko had had minor experiences of being in love but she'd smothered and ended it when things began to either get too involved or went downhill. It made certain that the only person she was truly responsible for was herself and if she wasn't attached to anyone, then her feelings were never too badly hurt. She'd already lost enough people in her life that she didn't relish the feeling of absolute despair and pain of losing someone else.

Plus Kakashi was a _friend_…_and_ her team leader. And he read porn. Eww. Hmm, better back up on that friend thought and pester him some more about his particular choice of reading material.

Anyways, no matter how resolved she was on the fact that she must focus on her life and its direction, it annoyed her that she was looking at him in her mind while she was making that decision. Her memory replayed the second scene at the river and showed his hair, wet and gravity drawn, his storm-gray eye glowing with amusement, a smile twitching under the mask. Of course this was just what her memory was pulling up, and probably not what had actually occurred. He was likely fast asleep and dreaming up his next plan of attack. It probably involved her being dumped in a lake and then having her face rubbed in the mud. Naw, that's just what she'd like to do to him. She snickered at the image she'd managed to conjure.

The image vaguely twisted and distorted itself until Kakashi vanished.

She found herself wandering the empty streets of Konoha. It wasn't any place in Konoha she'd ever been, but she knew that's where she was. Except it was different. The colours of the buildings were dull and muted; the sun wasn't shining; there was a lonely wind blowing through…

_But what's really wrong here?_ She asked. As soon as the thought flitted through her consciousness she realized what was so wrong. Everything was deadly still. There were no people. The streets were completely empty. There was no laughter, no talking, not even shouting. No sounds of life. Konoha was always active with families, friends, dogs and always birds. The oppressing feeling of foreboding grew and the sense that she was being watched by invisible eyes increased. She did not want to go inside any of the buildings; going inside would be bad. She was afraid of what she might find.

_What could I be afraid of?_ She wondered. She felt very vulnerable and open, but she was drawn to one of the buildings. It appeared to be a flower shop but it had a macabre twist. As she continued to look at it, however, Kumiko couldn't quite put her finger on what was so wrong with it. The nagging feeling and the ache between her shoulders increased as she got closer.

When she opened the door, however, she recognized the inside of her house she shared with Kurenai. It wasn't her building, but the interior was right.

And then she saw Kurenai.

And Kakashi. And Naruto, and Asuma, and Sakura, Sasuke, Hokage, Gai, and more; faces she recognized and faces of strangers.

Then she saw the first bright and true colour in this Konoha. Red. Everything was red. It appeared like a stain, and then grew bright and ugly. Dripping red. Suddenly, _everything_ was red.

Nobody was breathing.

The faces and bodies of everyone warped, constantly changing, as their injuries and causes of death steadily got worse. Cuts and gashes got bigger and the positions of the way the dead were sitting or lying changed without actually moving.

When she finally moved, her foot squished into the carpet of her living room and she didn't have to look to know that the squish came from how much moisture the carpet had soaked up; how much blood there was.

Her breathing became shallow as her eyes stayed on Kakashi who became Kurenai, who became Asuma, who became Sakura and then replayed itself adding faces in between. Her breathing increased rapidly as the walls pressed in on her. The eyes of her companions all looking at her.

_I should have been here to save them!_ Her mind screamed at her. _Why wasn't I here?_ _How did this happen?_

A face flashed in her mind. She realized there was laughter. But not the kind that Konoha ever had.

Its menacing sound echoed around the walls, through the rooms, and down the stairs; hunting, searching, seeking something. Her. It found her.

A foot appeared at the top of the stairs in her view.

* * *

Kumiko jolted awake with a muffled scream, eyes wide, lungs heaving, and adrenaline pumping. She was sitting up, with her knife in her hand, at her campsite. She steadied her breathing to gasps of a runner who had just finished sprinting hundreds of miles for life, and she ran her hand through her hair, hand stopping when it reached the braid. She rubbed her forehead and then got up out of her sleeping bag. Pressing her forehead to a tree, she appreciated the coolness of the bark and willed herself to calm down. It had just been another nightmare. Just another bad dream.

She was still gripping her knife but her breathing became even. Hugging the tree as tightly as she could to release the stress, she squeezed her eyes shut. She was shocked when she felt wet tears slide silently down her cheek. The moisture rolled down to her chin and then dropped off to the ground. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, she turned to face her campsite and was relieved to find everything still where it was supposed to be. As if having a will of their own, her feet moved her around the campsite to each sleeper. Stopping at each person she gently bent down and took everyone's pulse, swallowing down the images in her head as she was rewarded with positive feedback. She hadn't expected anything less, and she could even feel the familiar hum of their chakra in the back of her consciousness, but it was comforting. Until she realized Kakashi was out of his sleeping bag. She cursed herself for not noticing as she glanced at her watch and realized it was his two hours to watch and had probably just witnessed the whole event. What must he think of her? Strong and independent Kumiko who ranted and raged over getting her hair wet but tearing up over a bad dream? They were never just dreams, but who other than she would understand that?

Feeling exhausted, but not ready to climb back into the confines of the sleeping bag, she walked towards the edge of the trees and into the woods until she reached the river. Sitting on the bank she took in the silence of the woods. The river sluggishly swam by with gurgles here and there and she allowed herself to inhale the fresh air. There were still a few rebellious crickets chirping but most of them were now silent. Everything seemed peaceful; welcoming.

There was a soft whoosh and then Kakashi landed silently, from whatever tree he'd just descended from, a few feet to Kumiko's right. Generally, if a person Kakashi knew, especially an adult, had a problem that they didn't want to share, he would leave it to them and let them sort it out. Figuring out your own problems helps you get stronger. When he watched Kumiko sleep and move from her slumber to her nightmare (he assumed by her behavior that it was a nightmare) he'd felt a shift in her chakra. It was a slow transition, but one he'd felt, and as he'd continued to watch her draw herself into a little ball to hide from whatever was tormenting her, he'd felt the offending presence increase. He couldn't tell what its source was, only that its target was Kumiko. It was time to talk. He needed to know if it was dangerous to Kumiko or to any of his younger charges. The tricky part was going to be getting her to open her mouth and actually talk to him. He knew she was used to being a loner and not having to rely on or protect anybody else, but she had to learn, even if she didn't know she was learning.

"Bad dream?" he asked. He kept his tone even so she couldn't write him off as not caring or caring too much.

She nodded in response.

"You have them often, don't you?" His voice matched the calm and peacefulness of the evening.

She blinked and nodded again.

"How often?" he asked quietly.

She shrugged, never looking at him. When he remained silent, she expanded to fill the silence. "They're unpredictable. Silly, really," she tried to shove it off. "Just my imagination taking off if I get too worried about some things."

He raised his gaze to the sparkling sky. "I don't think they're that simple," he told her softly.

She blinked, her eyes on the dark river. "What makes you say that?"

He turned his head to look at her and she glanced at him before looking back to the water. "Are you aware that your chakra shifts while you have these dreams?"

When her eyes widened briefly, he knew he was right. "It doesn't feel like your chakra," he continued. "I think it's an outside attacking force."

She fell silent, her empty stare back on the river while she thought about this new information.

"I normally don't like to pry into other people's lives, Kumiko, but it is important that your team understands who and what is after us. I understand that you may want to run from your past—"

"I'm not running from it," she interrupted, her voice low, quiet, but strong. "I am simply not yet strong enough to face it."

He nodded slowly, "But remember that you have a team now. As a team, we support each other and work together. This also means that one person's danger is everybody's danger. The difference is that the ratio goes from one to one, to five to one."

She shook her head and drew a shuddering breath, "My nightmares are not dangerous to anybody else but me."

"But you didn't know that they were being sent from elsewhere," he said.

She fell silent again. If her enemy was nearing her, maybe even tracking her through her dreams, her team had to know who was after her and to do that, they probably needed to know why. Not everybody, but someone. That someone was sitting patiently next to her. It was important that he know.

Wasn't it? Or should she just leave again? Leave without them being any wiser to her life and its history. That would be the right thing to do instead of endangering them…yet she couldn't bring herself to uproot again, even if she hadn't been here longer than a week. Everybody she was with was so kind to her; kind and strong. They ought to know.

"I met him when I turned 17. He'd caught me crashing a party for food but instead of turning me in, he offered me a job. He said he liked my style. When he found out how great my skill was at that age, he was even more impressed," her voice faded and when Kakashi glanced at her, he found she was staring back into her memories, her face blank, her eyes haunted.

"Who is he?" Kakashi asked softly. He decided that at the moment she didn't need to elaborate. She didn't like to look back into her past but she seemed to be drawn into it every time she was on the run.

Her throat closed, and she hugged her knees. Memories swirled around her head like noxious gas and she felt her eyes sting again. She tried to take a deep breath but it was shaky.

Kakashi gently put his arm around her, and rubbed her shoulder with his other hand. "You can cry, Kumiko. I promise I won't tell."

She drew one more shuddering breath and said, in a thick but small voice, "I'm not going to cry. That'd be stupid." Then she sniffled, hiccupped, and a tear slid down her cheek.

Kakashi cared for each of his pupils. He was very selective and had actually turned every trio of graduates back to the academy until this team. They were young, eager to learn, but still very innocent in the ways of the world. Kumiko wasn't really a student. She'd beaten him a multitude of times in training and she wasn't even a full five years younger than he was. He was feeling his heart go out to her, wanting to shoulder some of her load, relieve her of some of the pain and regret. As he sat there, with his arm around her he wondered who the last person was to hold her like this while she cried in misery. When was the last time she had really cried? Had she been alone? He thought about his comrades in the past and present and wondered about the last time she'd had a best friend. Had it been recent? Or had she had one in school, perhaps? …Had she ever had one at all? A real friend?

He ran his free hand through her dark hair and noted, with a small smile, that it was still slightly damp.

Could he fill that role? Could he be her friend?

Would she let him?

Was she already? They goofed around together, ticked each other off, and teased back and forth. And here he was now, holding her while she cried, promising to keep it a secret for her. And he'd known her for a week and a half.

Yes, he would be her friend. She was already finding a spot with everybody else in his heart; it was too late to think of doing anything else.

* * *

Okay, there's chapter four. Let me know if you like how the story is developing and how the characters are developing. At my sister's insistence, I'm going to try and work on the relationships between Kumiko and the three genin within the next chapter or two so that I'm not completely leaving them out. I'm also going to try and end this mission soon. The fic wasn't supposed to take up a ton of time here, but there you go. I know I mentioned a carnival a chapter or two back so I'm gonna get to that, I promise.

Drop me a review with your analysis and ideas!

-Kirara  
.

PS. Lots of thanks to my dearest sister for her patience and editing. The story would be dumb and choppy without her.


	5. Lady of the Lake

Disclaimer: Characters/techniques/names do not belong to me except for Kumiko.

Wow, it's only taken me a month to write this! I'm so proud of me…

* * *

Chapter Five: 

Lady of the lake

* * *

Kakashi cast yet another worried glance over his shoulder at Kumiko. Aside from snarling viciously at Kano when she woke up, she'd been serene and polite to everybody else since. It was like last night had never happened. He frowned briefly. Maybe last night hadn't happened. He shook himself. Of course last night had happened…just…nobody else had to know. 

Kumiko's cry from behind brought him back to the present. He looked up…and wondered what the heck the matter was. He nearly tripped himself when he realized that the ground was making grabs for his feet and grasped that the sand ninjas had found them. And they were so close the Kumogakure border. Almost abruptly, the sand at his feet stopped grabbing at him and faded back into the ground. That could only mean that the creator of the technique had purposely dropped the attack or had been forced to drop the attack.

"Sakura! Naruto! Sasuke! I want you to—" he glanced at them and found they had already formed a ring around Kano.

"—right. Good job."

He ran into the forest to take the attack away from its target and he saw Kumiko run into the trees in the opposite direction. Almost immediately after she disappeared behind him, she was suddenly in his face.

"The other two are this way," she whispered in her passing.

He blinked and realized that she'd already been this way and had fooled everyone by using the art of substitution.

"You go," he told her. "I'm going to keep an eye on Kano."

She nodded and disappeared.

Kakashi stood still, concealing his presence while mentally searching for one of the attackers but couldn't understand when the only people he could feel were his genin and Kano. Suddenly, an attacking ninja ran right by him and onto the path where the genin were standing…and he was somehow closely followed by Sasuke. Kakashi frowned when he realized that Sasuke was _still_ standing guard, and was running at himself at the same time. The attacker seemed taken by surprise as well and wasn't sure which Sasuke to prioritize. He attacked the one closest to him, the one chasing, and after moments, found he was fighting both. Within moments, both Sasukes appeared to be out-matched. One of them was struck and disappeared with a _poof_ and the remaining Sasuke found he was fighting for his life. Naruto and Sakura were still standing guard around Kano but were slowly moving their ways away from the fight to keep Kano safe. Kakashi had excellent aim but with Sasuke fighting that close, the chances of _not_ hitting him were slim. He needed to provide a distraction that would force both ninjas to pause to determine if the distraction was on their side or not. When the ninja's back was to Kakashi, a figure of Kakashi stepped around a tree trunk behind Sasuke with a large rustle. Both of them paused for only half a second but it was enough time for the real Kakashi to throw a knife that struck the enemy ninja in the back of the neck, breaking his spinal cord.

Kumiko appeared beside him. He looked at her and she nodded. "I took care of the other two." He nodded back and then they both walked out onto the path.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Kakashi asked. There was a large gash in his upper pant leg that revealed blood. Sasuke's eye twitched in pain but narrowed his eyes in annoyance as Sakura descended upon him. Then he smirked lightly at Kumiko, "She doesn't seem to be doing too well either."

Kakashi looked at her and watched her sleeve darken with blood but she said, "I'm fine but Sasuke may need stitches."

"What's wrong with your arm?" he demanded.

"It's just a small cut when one of them grazed me. It'll heal all by itself but I don't know that Sasuke's will."

"What?" Kakashi sent her look of surprise, "You mean you're not a talented medic, too?"

She cast him a glare. "No, I'm not."

"Then let's bind it and go."

Despite how Kakashi made that statement, making it sound like they'd be off within the next five minutes, they spent twenty carefully washing the wound, which was deep. Then Kakashi pulled out a roll of bandages and wrapped the cut.

"If you can't walk on it, let me know. You'll only injure yourself further if you push yourself," Kakashi said as he helped Sasuke to his feet.

"I can do it," Sasuke replied.

Five minutes later Kumiko was scouting ahead for the closest town with proper medical supplies and Sasuke was riding piggy-back on Kakashi.

"Oh, yes! I can do it! _Not_!" Naruto snickered.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura reprimanded, "At least Sasuke leapt in to protect Kano."

Naruto shut up and held a sullen silence until Kumiko returned.

"There's a small town just inside the border if we head northeast," she reported.

"Excellent," Kakashi replied and turned to Kano. "Is it anywhere you may know of?"

Kano thought about it and then nodded. "I believe I may. Small town, fountain near the hospital?" he asked Kumiko.

She nodded.

"Then, yes, I even know the doctor there."

"Speed up," Kakashi ordered, and they increased their speed to a run.

* * *

They reached the town within two hours of Kumiko's report and the doctor was able to stitch Sasuke up. Unfortunately he was instructed to not use it at all for at least a day which forced the group to remain where they were. The Hidden Village of Light and Shadows was only another day away, but Sakura and Naruto were forced to spend the day training, while they waited for Sasuke's leg to heal well enough for him to walk. 

They arrived in Kumogakure the following day and Kano reported to Raikage with the important object that he'd been transporting. They hadn't found out what it was, but then it wasn't their job to know. It was being transported _out_ of their country, and therefore not their business.

Kano invited them to his place for dinner and offered they stay the night before they left the next day.

Kano owned a nice house that sat next to a lake, which the river they'd been following ran into. The house was furnished in good taste and everything matched, making Kumiko wonder if he'd furnished it himself or if he'd hired an interior decorator to do the job. The entryway opened up to a large living room/entertainment room and across the door was a grand staircase that lead up to the kitchen and dining room. The deck was just outside the kitchen and was made from a rich, dark coloured wood and was decorated with plants.

The six of them sat out on the deck trying to enjoy the pasta that Kano had cooked up. He had decided to make one last stab at impressing Kumiko and decided to show her that he had a 'passion' in cooking, too. Unfortunately, his pasta stuck to itself and the sauce (made it himself) tasted strongly of spinach and crab.

Of course, he didn't notice it himself, as he'd stayed in the kitchen while it was congealing and had become accustomed to the smell, but everybody else did. They were respectful and said nothing but good things because he was letting them spend the night, he was a client, and he might employ them again.

However, Kumiko wordlessly got up and took her dish with her and walked back into the kitchen. She went through all his cupboards until shortly, Naruto joined her. She smiled and took his plate from him and set it on the counter next to hers after scraping the sauce from the pasta back into the pot. She added a few things, stirred it around and Naruto swore he'd watched a miracle happen. She let him try it after she did and couldn't believe how edible she'd made it. She respooned it back onto their plates and went back outside. Kano looked questioningly at them.

"Needed more," Kumiko replied with a smile.

He smiled dashingly back at her, entirely convinced.

After watching her and Naruto eat contently for a few moments, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke got up and went into the kitchen. When they returned, smiling, Kano exclaimed, "Why, I had no idea how great my cooking was!"

"Yes," Kumiko replied, "It's amazing just how you come up with such different tastes."

"I must admit I put a little extra effort in to it, but I was trying a new sauce this time. I'm glad it was such a success!"

Everyone around the table hmmed and hahhed, in agreement, but of course their mouths were all full so they were unable to actually say anything complimentary.

Kano's house had a master bedroom, two smaller bedrooms, and a guestroom but because Kano lived alone, he slept in the master and used the rest as guest rooms.

Sakura and Kumiko shared one of the rooms that had an ocean theme to it. Kumiko sat on the bed while Sakura used the bathroom that was attached to it.

"Couldn't you have done anything about the sticky pasta?" Sakura asked around her toothbrush. It actually sounded like '_Oodn't Oo av un nytin boutt teh icky asta?_' but Kumiko understood her.

"No. It was sticky because it had boiled for too long."

Sakura nodded in understanding before turning to spit in the sink. After rinsing her mouth, she came out of the bathroom, saying, "Well thanks for doing what you did with the sauce. It made it so much easier to pretend that he'd done a good job."

Kumiko grinned and got up from the bed. She brushed her teeth and then told Sakura that she was going for a run.

"A run? At this hour?"

"Yea," Kumiko replied. "Don't you ever get the urge to run or practice?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it an urge. More like a duty," Sakura admitted.

Kumiko nodded, realizing that she almost expected that kind of an answer from Sakura, who wasn't a very hands-on kind of fighter. They could work on that.

Kumiko closed the door quietly behind her and tiptoed down the hall, passed the boy's room and passed Kakashi's room. When she slipped out the front door, she could have sworn she'd heard a bedroom door closing, but when she froze to listen, she heard nothing, and so she left, shutting the front door quietly behind her.

She walked down to where the lake was lapping against the shore, did a few basic stretches, and then took off at a light jog across the lake. There was a splash behind her and Kumiko turned. Her face was cautious, but then the ripples washing over her feet told her that her pursuer was underwater. It was probably whomever she had thought had closed the door before she'd left, but then she couldn't be too careful. She leapt back twenty paces. If they were going to come underwater, she could at least make it more difficult for them to reach her secretly. She was out on the lake far enough that if they'd dove in near the shore, they'd need to take a breath before they got within twenty feet of her.

A hand grabbed her ankle and she squawked in surprise. She twisted out of the hand's grasp but before she could regain her balance, the other hand grabbed her other ankle and tripped her. She prepared her chakra to let her land _on_ the water, instead of _in_ the water, but the hand still on her ankle forced chakra into her leg, interrupting her chakra flow and she crashed into the water. Knives out, she attacked at whomever had dared get her hair wet after dark but as soon as she had this thought, she knew exactly who had done this. And he was going to die.

She attacked him viciously with her knives but he was prepared and countered with his own. They parried underwater until, finally, he rose to take a breath. She popped up beside him and found he was laughing. She dunked him underwater, which of course didn't prevent him from laughing, but he did come up choking and spluttering.

"Kakashi, do I look angry to you?" she demanded.

Still unable to speak due to much laughing and choking, he merely nodded.

"Did we not go over what would happen if you got my hair wet again after dark?"

Again, Kakashi nodded, but this time he forced, "Kano has a hair dryer," out.

Kumiko paused.

"But that hardly matters," Kakashi said, "because I would have done this anyways."

She smacked him upside the head.

"Ow! Okay! I'm sorry!"

"Good." Kumiko hauled herself out of the water and onto the water. Again, it was bothering her that her stomach was doing interesting flip-flops and she was mentally cowering in a corner, wondering why the world was torturing her this way.

She sat on the water, dangling her calves and feet under the surface, and Kakashi soon pulled himself out of the water and followed suit.

"So, what are you doing out here?" he asked her.

"Being mad at you," she responded childishly.

This pulled a wider smile out of him but then he nodded gravely. "Yea, it's hard work being mad at me. You really do need to sit on a lake with wet hair after dark to accomplish it."

She pushed his shoulder, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"How'd you manage to stay underwater for so long?" she asked him out of curiosity.

"I converted my chakra to oxygen, of course," he replied. He watched her face as she worked out what he'd said and then figured it made sense.

"You mean," he started slyly, "that you didn't know that?"

She stiffened. "I was wondering what method you used."

"Admit it! You didn't know you could do that with chakra!"

"Fine. I admit it."

"…really? That's it? You're just admitting it?"

"Well what else could I do?"

He snorted, "You could have said something lame like using a bubble head charm or gillyweed."

She gaped at him.

"What?" he asked, affronted.

"You mean you read something other than porn?"

He sniffed, "It is _not_ porn. It is beautiful literature about the union of men and women."

"My _butt_ is beautiful literature!" she scoffed.

"Is it?" he asked with a serious expression.

She stared at him and he grinned. She made to knock him playfully in the shoulder, but he grabbed her hand and interrupted her chakra flow again, sending her down into the water.

Her head popped back up and she glared daggers at him.

"So why were you out here, again?" he asked her.

She smiled evilly. "Burning chakra," and she grabbed his leg and did the same thing to him.

He rose to the surface and, still grinning, said, "Now, now, Kumiko, no grabbing my leg above the knee."

She blushed, not realizing that she had even done that. She watched him carefully. "You know, you'd be so much easier to read if you didn't wear that mask," she said, irritated.

"Maybe that's why I wear it," he said. "You, on the other hand, are very easy to read sometimes."

"Am I?" she asked, her voice confident, her nerves shaky. "What am I thinking then?" the second the words left her mouth, she wished she hadn't said them.

He reclined on the water, "You're thinking—"

"Because if it has anything to do with racing across the lake, you'd be correct," she interrupted.

Something passed through Kakashi's eye, but she couldn't decipher it fast enough before it was gone and replaced by a competitive look.

He grinned up at her, "Fine. You run and I'll swim. And when I win, I'll tell you what you're _really_ thinking."

"You can't possibly swim as fast as I can run," she jeered, nerves prickling her skin.

"On your mark, get set, go!" Kakashi grinned and took off.

Kumiko cursed and leapt out of the water and took off at a sprint. She overtook Kakashi quickly and then started to take huge jumps and made it to the other side of the lake within minutes. Kakashi pulled in some minutes later, puttering around half on the surface, half swimming, a ticked off expression on his face.

"I thought you were _running_," he said.

"Yes, and I thought you were _swimming_. You were using chakra to propel yourself forward."

"You were using chakra, too!" he protested.

"Yea, to stay on top of the water."

"Oh please, you cannot jump that far without chakra assistance."

There was nothing she could say without sounding immature, so she said nothing.

"And," he said, lazily swimming circles around her, "you were thinking that it was time to get yourself a mask so you can hide all of your other expressions that betray what you're really thinking."

She stared blankly at him before saying, "You didn't win."

"Yes I did. You cheated first which means that you were disqualified. I won."

"Prick," she muttered.

"Tell me I'm right," he smiled sweetly.

"I just did."

"Oh. Well, about those other emotions that you want to hide—"

"I'm tired. Are you ready to go back?" she asked as though she hadn't just interrupted him.

He opened his mouth to point out she didn't need a mask to hide behind because she was already hiding, but realized that she didn't want to talk.

His hand reached out of the water, grabbed her ankle, and she ended up in the water again.

"Gee, Kumiko, if you keep ending up in the water, I'll have to start calling you 'Lake Lady'," Kakashi teased, changing the subject for her.

If looks could kill, Kakashi would have been drowning, but Kumiko then sniffed and said "I prefer Lady of the Lake, thank you."

"But, of course!" Kakashi leapt out of the water and made a sweeping bow. Like the gentleman he was pretending to be, he offered her his hand. She took it, surprising him, and then he ended up in the water.

"Watch out that I don't start calling you the Pond Prince," she chortled.

"Hmph, I'd prefer a more dignified title like yours. Lord of the Lake doesn't sound too shabby."

"No, no, no, that title is too dignified for you. Pond Pauper is better."

"Oh, you wound me!" he made a stabbing motion at his heart.

"Besides, if I'm Lady of the Lake, you being Lord of the Lake would imply that we're a unit," she gagged, "Which we aren't."

"Oh, is the idea really so repulsive?"

"Of course it is," she said, while thinking the opposite, "You read…what was it again? 'Beautiful literature about the unity of men and women,' I believe."

"And that's really so terrible?"

"Of course. It's degrading. Something the Lord of the Lake would not do."

He grinned, "But I learn so much from them."

Kumiko pulled a horrified face at him, "I did _not_ need to know that."

He laughed, "What else does the Lord of the Lake do?"

"Well…" she thought about this, wondering what he was really asking her and why he was asking. "Not much else that's different from who he really is…but really, that literature issue has to be fixed."

He nodded, while walking up onto the bank, "Of course. What does the Lady require him to read?"

She took his offered hand, like a lady, and walked up beside him on the beach, "What ever else he wants to read that's appropriate in front of everybody else. Of course, what he reads in private is his own choice."

Kakashi nodded in agreement as they set off around the beach. "And of course the Lady is perfect as she is?"

"Of course," she said lightly.

Kakashi cast her a wry look, "Aside from the fact that she isn't very open with who she is."

"She's very paranoid, you see," Kumiko retorted, "because people keep trying to kill or capture her."

"But of course her lord is happy to assist her in defeating her foes. You see, he wants to be her friend, too."

Kumiko nodded slowly, turning that sentence over, "Assistance is good. But giving her space is good, too. The Lady doesn't like to be too crowded, as she is accustomed to living alone."

"But she doesn't have to live alone anymore."

Kumiko sighed and gave up. "I know that. I'll get used to it."

"Good," he smiled, "We'll all be waiting for you when you do."

She nodded and looked away before looking back, realizing that he was still holding her hand. She looked at their joined hands and then back at him. He responded with a blank, questioning look. She smiled and shook her head and looked back across the lake.

When she extracted her hand from his so she could let her hair out of its braid so it could dry and took off her shoes so she could feel the sand on her feet, Kakashi only just noticed that she'd still been holding his hand. He'd still held hers. Well it hardly mattered which way it went, only that it had happened.

'_Does she…?_' he asked himself. '_Or did she do it by accident and think it was my idea? Does she think I…?_' Kakashi tortured himself with his own thoughts while Kumiko hummed softly to herself.

Kakashi looked sideways at her. '_How could I possibly think I like her if I know so little about her? I mean, yea, I'm _attracted _to her, but she's beautiful. And fun. And creative._'

Kakashi had never been in love before. Something about him made women picture him as flakey, shallow, and once they found out what he liked to read, they tended to leave and not really come back. He'd therefore dedicated himself to being a ninja so he could protect the people who did like him and who he liked. He messed around and trained with Gai and Asuma sometimes, but they were guys, too. Kumiko was a lot of fun, maybe even more so than they were, but she was a woman and you could only ignore that for so long. Or so he thought. As for her liking him?

'_Not a chance,_' he decided. '_She doesn't trust people, she's lived a very hard life, and she may even have ties to the past that I can't compete with._'

He felt slightly miserable at this realization. He _could_ just ask her, but of course that might set off their friendship and ruin everything. Kakashi, as a cadet, had never told girls when he liked them, and they had never told him they had liked him. He was very much in the dark about what to do. In his books, the characters always had a mutual liking for each other, even if it was very deep down, and by the end of the books they were often married. Fortunately for Kakashi, he understood that life didn't actually work like that. Unfortunately, that didn't help him at all.

"Still feeling tired?" Kumiko asked him, bringing him out of his confused and melancholy thoughts.

He arched his eyebrow, making her smile, and said, "I thought it was _you_ who claimed to be tired."

"I was saying it for you." She said, "You used quite a bit of chakra out there on the lake."

His insides squirmed because of how right she was. "No, I'm not tired."

"Want to race back?"

He looked up and saw that the house wasn't too far away. He took off without replying.

"Hey!" she cried indignantly. Her hand grabbed his ankle and he tripped. She flew over him and leapt for a tree.

"Owww! My hair!" she exclaimed as he grabbed a few locks of it. He noticed its softness before saying, "You shouldn't have taken it out!"

She pounced on him and slid his headband over both of his eyes. She snickered as he nearly ran into a tree trunk.

The two of them fell onto Kano's driveway breathing heavily and sporting light injuries. Kumiko's arm injury she'd obtained the previous day from their fight had reopened and was bleeding lightly while Kakashi's hands were raw from having braced him for landing so many times.

"Shall we call it a draw?" he asked as they quietly walked up the front porch and Kumiko nodded.

Locking the door behind them, the two of them stared up the flight of stairs to the second landing where their bedrooms were. After burning chakra, racing, outsmarting, and fighting, the stairs looked like they were going to be more of an obstacle than they really were.

"Couch?" Kumiko yawned and pointed at the antique-looking piece of wood and cushion.

Kakashi wrinkled his nose. The couch matched the rest of the furniture but looked like it might break if sat on too heavily.

"Stairs," he said.

They dragged themselves up the enormous flight and fell onto the bed in the first room. Kumiko slept soundly, but Kakashi's sleep was interrupted.

'_Argh, did she mean to take my bed? Or was she just really tired? Or did she not want to wake Sakura?_' He glanced at the clock that read after midnight. '_Yea, that's it. She didn't want to wake Sakura _and_ she's really tired._'

He glanced at the deeply sleeping Kumiko and willed himself to sleep. Unfortunately every time his mind started to drift off, his body started to drift towards her.

Growling with irritation, he rolled over and finally dropped off.

* * *

Kumiko squinted as the sun rose and spilled into the room onto her face. She buried herself more into the pillow and covers, willing sleep to come back, but all of her muscles tensed when she felt the weight at her back. 

'_Sakura?_' she wondered briefly before remembering the previous night. Her cheeks flared as she realized it was Kakashi whose arm was draped over her waist. Whose body she was leaning against.

Kumiko rolled out of bed so quickly, she landed on her butt, instead of her feet, the thud waking Kakashi.

"Eh? Kumiko?" he peered over the edge at her bleery-eyed form on the floor and realized whose side of the bed he was on.

'_Gah! There shouldn't even be a side-of-the-bed!_' he thought frantically as he rolled as fast as the sheets would let him onto his side of the bed so he could get up. Sheets are devious things, however, and while they may make you think you've rolled neatly over to where you're supposed to be, they show you that they have the upper hand when you try to stand.

Kakashi ended up on his face.

Kumiko stood up from where she was and saw what had become of him. She started laughing and he looked at her frantically, "Shut up! If the rest of the team finds out we slept together, it'll be the talk of the town when we get home!"

"Oh give me a break!" Kumiko said, stifling her laugh. "It's not like we _slept_ together. Besides, you look like a burrito. "

There was a knock on the door.

"Kumiko?"

It was Sakura.

Their smiles were wiped off their faces. They gave each other wide eyes and then Kakashi rolled under the bed, taking all of the sheets with him.

Kumiko stifled a snicker and thought she was going to die trying not to laugh at the scene Sakura found when she entered the room.

The bed was sitting perfectly naked with the comforter on the floor and the sheets gone.

"Err, Kumiko, where are the sheets?"

"They're, uh, gone," she said and then mentally slapped herself. She swore she felt the bed quiver from Kakashi's suppressed laughter. "What are you doing here, Sakura?"

"What do you mean, gone?" she asked,

"Gone. I've misplaced them. They aren't here. Now, what was it you wanted?"

"Oh, I woke up expecting you to be there, but your half of the bed was unslept in. I thought I heard your voice coming from Kakashi's room so I came to check." She glanced around the room. "Where's Kakashi?"

"I'm sure he's the reason the sheets are missing," she said and because she was on the opposite side of the bed, Sakura couldn't see Kakashi's hand dart out from under the dust ruffle and flick Kumiko irritably on the ankle. Kumiko stepped on his fingers, suppressing a grin. "We'll find him before breakfast."

Sakura nodded in acceptance. "I'm going to see if Kano's up yet to get us breakfast," and she left, closing the door behind her again.

Kakashi rolled out from under the bed, griping his fingers in pain, opened his mouth to make a snarky remark about his fingers while he began to untangle himself from the sheets, when Sakura opened the door again.

She froze and glanced at Kakashi.

"Err," Kumiko stuttered, trying to find something plausible to say but settled for, "I told you Kakashi took the sheets."

Kakashi snorted.

Sakura backed out of the room, apparently forgetting what she'd come back for, and once more, shut the door behind her.

Kumiko gave a short bark of laughter and then walked over to give Kakashi a hand.

"Back off, finger-crusher," he warned.

"Ooh, Great insult," she said dryly and grabbed one end of the sheets and pulled. Kakashi rolled out.

"_Oof!_ I hope Kano _isn't_ up. That way you'll have to make us breakfast."

Kumiko cupped her hand around her ear, "What's that? Do I hear a compliment? Coming from Kakashi? Surely not!"

He grumbled. "So you're a great chef. Big deal."

"Chefs go to school. I'm a cook."

"Whatever."

She smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

They arrived home five days later, moving slow because of Sasuke's injury. When they did return, Naruto felt gypped because they'd only been attacked once. 

"I mean, that was more like a 'C' level mission," he complained. "We've done harder ones before!"

"You should be grateful we only encountered an enemy once!" Sakura snapped.

"But how are we supposed to improve if we don't fight?" he asked her.

"With training, of course!"

"Sakura-chan, that isn't the same thing!"

"Ah, here we are," Kakashi interrupted.

The five of them strode up and into the red building to report to Hokage.

"What took you guys so long?" Hokage asked with a smile when they approached his table in the request room.

"Sasuke, here, was injured," Kakashi replied.

"It's healing," Sasuke said indifferently.

"Sasuke-kun was sooo brave," Sakura cooed.

"As you know, Kakashi," Hokage said, changing the subject, "we are in the midst of setting up for a carnival. We expected you back sooner so you could help, but there are still a few things needed to be done. If you and Kumiko could help out with that for a time today and tomorrow, I know that would help speed things up."

Kakashi nodded as Naruto rushed forward. "Can I help, too?"

Hokage smiled around his pipe but said, "I'm sorry, Naruto, but you need to be 16 to help with the construction. You are, of course, invited to attend."

Naruto looked down as they left the building with their earnings so Kakashi promised that they'd take a training day to have a battle, which cheered him up considerably.

* * *

"So, are you going to go help with set-up today?" 

Kumiko shrugged in response, not really sure.

She and Kakashi were walking home after dismissing the genin. Both were tired but Hokage _had_ asked them to help out…

"I'll go tomorrow," she decided.

Nodding, Kakashi said, "I'm going to go today but after I nap," and as if on cue, he yawned.

Upon reaching their separate houses, Kumiko thought about it and then said, "I might show up after I sleep, too, but my sleep is going to come first."

Nodding, Kakashi replied saying, "See you later," and then the two parted.

Kumiko unlocked the door and found a note lying on the front hall mat. Bending to pick it up, she discovered it was from Kurenai and it said that she and her team had left a few days ago on a mission and were expected back some time tomorrow.

Unpacking, Kumiko took in the silence of the house and wondered about the peculiar feeling she was experiencing.

'_This is home,_' she thought pensively.

It was a feeling of gradual familiarity and possessiveness that she hadn't experienced since she was ten years old.

Walking up the stairs, she pushed open the door to her room and looked around. It didn't really feel like her room, but as she compared her room to Kurenai's she decided that Kurenai's had a number of personal items, like the posters and window hangings, that she didn't have.

'_That'll change,_' she thought with a smile as she lay down on her bed.

Shutting her eyes, she let sleep claim her as she vaguely considered setting her alarm and then decided against it. They could set up a carnival without her.

* * *

Tadaa! Chapter five! 

Half way through this chapter, I got bored with what was going on so I started writing another scene. I am happy to say that this other scene is going to be the start of chapter six, so I've already got at least a page written of the next chapter. Yay!

Anyways, again, tell me if you like the speed that Kakashi and Kumiko are getting together. It had better not be too quickly (if it goes any slower, I may explode from impatience). This chapter I'm really interested in how you think the plot is coming. Am I going too slow? That's one of my reoccurring problems. I write too darn slow. The story barely moves. But let me know of your opinions.

I will promise that chapter six is going to be devoted to the carnival. Yay! (it only took me, what, three chapters to get there?). No promises on how long it'll take me to write the next chapter, but I hope it's as quick as this one…

Review!

-Kirara


	6. Carnival!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other characters 'cept for Kumiko. Oh yea, and the story line is mine, too…

Ye Gods, it took me 9 friggin months to write this thing. I really, _really,_ hope I did a good job. Please let me know if I did.

* * *

Chapter 6

Carnival!

* * *

Kakashi peered in the window across the street from him. At 2:30 in the morning, everybody should have been sleeping yet the kitchen light was on. Kurenai was out on a mission with her genin so Kumiko had the house to herself and there she was, playing loud music and baking. 

Suddenly not feeling the least bit tired, Kakashi walked across the road, jumped up onto the overhang that hung over the front of the house and gently pried at her window. It was locked and, as he looked in, he discovered she'd stuck a piece of wood to prevent it opening more than a few inches. But Kurenai wasn't as careful, right? Quietly tiptoeing across the roof, Kakashi was sure he was being over cautious, what with the loud music and all…and yet Kumiko had an uncanny knack of observing things out of place. Such as people walking on the roof at 2:30am.

Dropping down onto the overhang that hung over the back of the house, he tested Kurenai's window and found it to be unlocked. Kumiko wouldn't be happy to hear that, but he could lock it and she'd never know.

Silently, he left Kurenai's room and made his way to the bottom of the stairs. He poked his head into the living room so he wasn't entirely visible and watched Kumiko spin around in the kitchen in time to the music. Her hair was pulled back in a half ponytail, the rest left hanging down to reveal its glorious length, and she was wearing a pair of satin pajama pants covered in little black cats and a tank top with the same cat seated in the middle of it.

He figured he should make his appearance known so she wouldn't simply discover him. He'd learned that making himself known instead of being discovered 'watching' went over much better. He coughed.

Kumiko spun, the wooden spoon and dinner fork in her hands held at ready. He smirked as batter plopped from the spoon on to her hand and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"_What_ are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Just stopping by," he responded, while she walked over to turn down the music.

"Uh huh, and how did you get in?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," he grinned. She narrowed her eyes some more.

He ignored her obvious 'pissed-off' signs and walked through the living room into the kitchen. "What are you baking?" he asked as she resumed her measuring.

"Chocolate chip cookies."

"I see…and where are the chocolate chips?" he asked hopefully.

She tossed him a glance, "Why, so you can eat 'em all before I can put a cup or two into the batter?"

He shrugged, "Maybe…"

She finished mixing the eggs in and then walked over to the pantry and came back with the flour, baking powder, and chocolate chips.

"Chocolate chips?" he asked optimistically.

"Not a chance."

He pouted. "Fine, I got in through Kurenai's window. It's locked now."

She tossed him the chocolate chips, and he gleefully caught them one handed. He popped a few into his mouth—how he maneuvered the mask, Kumiko couldn't truthfully say—and savored the flavor.

"Here," she said, "help me stir in the dry ingredients."

Grinning, he wandered over and took the fork from her.

"So what made you think to come over here?" she asked while she leaned against the counter.

"I couldn't sleep," he replied, "and I saw the kitchen light on. So I wandered over. You'd think that after setting up a carnival, I'd be tired, but like _some_ people who _didn't_ help with set up, I seem to be wide awake."

"Hmm, want some hot chocolate?" she asked, ignoring the barb.

"Sure!" he replied, insults forgotten.

She felt herself smile at his enthusiasm and went over to a cupboard to get out two mugs.

"Why can't you sleep?" he asked her.

The smile slipped off her face as she set the mugs down on the counter. "Nightmares," she said stiffly.

He looked at her. "Keep stirring," she told him and went to grab the milk from the counter.

He did as he was told but kept looking at her while he spoke. "They aren't getting any worse, are they?"

Kumiko sighed tiredly, "No, but they aren't getting better."

After placing the mugs into the microwave, she hoisted herself up onto the counter and leaned against the cabinets. "I also can't sleep cause I had a very nice nap earlier."

He smirked while turning away and stealing some of the batter with his finger.

"Hey, no eating the cookies until they're cooked!"

"Aww, come on! You can't seriously tell me that you can resist the doughy-goodness of uncooked chocolate chip cookies," he wheedled.

"It's got eggs in it," she sniffed, nose in the air.

"Just try some," he said, waving the fork towards her.

"No way! Plus, if I eat off that fork, it can't go back into the batter!"

He arched his eyebrow at her, "So use another fork?"

"But…"

He popped the end of the fork into his own mouth and she exclaimed with outrage and indignation.

Stomping over to the cutlery drawer, she retrieved a fork and sampled the batter.

Reaching past her, Kakashi grabbed another fork and took an even bigger gob.

"Hey! You can't have all of it!" Kumiko exclaimed, grabbing a table spoon.

"Watch me!" he said, going for the ice cream scoop.

Kumiko battled the ice cream scoop with a soup ladle, but because of the ladle's shape, she ended up flicking batter up at Kakashi and it stuck in his hair. There was a pregnant pause while they both considered what to do and then at the same time, Kakashi grabbed a handful of batter a lobbed it at Kumiko, while Kumiko ran to hide behind the table, grabbing the chocolate chips on the way past.

"_Hiding_, are you? Why, Kumiko, surely you know that hiding does not become you?"

In response, Kumiko threw a handful of chocolate chips at him and made a dash to the pantry. Taking two seconds too long, she ended up with batter on her butt as she raced back to her hiding place now armed with raisins and peanuts.

Launching a handful of made-on-the-spot trail mix, Kumiko laughed as Kakashi exclaimed when the bullets hit their mark. Kakashi pitched another dollop of dough at Kumiko when she stood again to throw raisins, and then started to worry as he realized she had a lot more ammo than he did.

Kumiko peeked around the table leg and flung raisins at Kakashi's back and when he dodged but didn't retaliate, she wondered what he was doing.

"Running out of ammo, Kakashi?" she taunted.

"Making more," he grinned back.

He turned back to his task, working as fast as he could. Kumiko, deciding the opportunity couldn't get better than this, crept behind him and then upended the chocolate chips, raisins, and peanuts on his head. Startled, because he hadn't heard her, Kakashi tossed at her what was currently in his hand: the cup of flour.

"Damnit, Kakashi!"

"Oops?"

"Don't you oops me! You did that on purpose!"

"Right, cause I timed when you'd creep up behind me."

"Oh shut up. I look like I've aged twenty years."

"It's a good look on you, Kumiko. You should consider keeping it permanently," he smirked.

"You mean, like you?" she grinned back.

"Ooh, below the belt…"

"Here, help me clean up and then we can get these in the oven," she laughed.

Kumiko swept up the floor and counter, while Kakashi finished adding the ingredients to the second batch he'd begun making. Their energy was slowly winding down and they both were feeling the weight of sleep upon them. Kakashi popped the cookies into the oven while Kumiko finished picking the batter off of her clothes and brushing off the flour, and then the two of them collapsed onto the living room couch. They sat there for a few seconds before Kakashi said, "Say…weren't you making hot chocolate?"

Kumiko groaned. "How about lukewarm milk?"

"No way. Hot chocolate or nothing."

"How about nothing?"

He rolled his eyes. She gave a martyred sigh. "Chocolate powder is in the pantry. Middle shelf."

"Huh. Some hostess _you _turned out to be," he huffed as he dragged himself up off the couch and back into the kitchen.

"Hey, it's not like I invited you in," she retorted as he started up the microwave again.

"Hah, like that'd keep me away."

"So I've learned," she smiled.

Neither of them said anything and Kumiko, uneasy with the silence, flipped on the TV. She channel surfed while Kakashi prepared their drinks and when he returned carrying steaming mugs of hot chocolate, the channel had ended up on a movie station.

"You like romantic comedies?" Kakashi asked as he handed her one of the mugs.

"Is that what's on?"

"Looks like it. No blood; no staggering loss; predictable romantic ending with lots of witty banter along the way; yea, I'd call that a romantic comedy."

"Happy ending?" she asked as he sat down next to her.

"Yea, those two will end up married, those three will resolve their differences…oh, and she'll get the better of her," he said, pointing at the different characters on the screen.

"Sounds nice."

"Yea. Completely unrealistic, but nice."

"Are you up to watching it?"

"Only if you don't mind me falling asleep half way through…"

Kumiko smiled and shrugged. A happy ending was nice once in a while, and while the mood was still good, she felt like that was what she most needed. "I don't mind."

They sat in silence and neither had to work hard to pick up what was going on in the story. They got up ten minutes into the movie to remove the cookies from the oven, but after being carried along by the simple tale, true to his word, Kakashi fell asleep.

Kumiko looked over at him when his posture shifted and smiled lightly as she attempted to pluck the empty mug in his hand. The hand tightened, however, so she let it be.

The story, she found, really wasn't interesting enough to hold her, but Kakashi was asleep on _her_ couch, so she decided to tough it out. If she got really tired, she could just wake him up and send him home, right? She leaned back and nestled into the comfy couch, breathed deeply to settle herself…and then dropped off.

* * *

The first thing Kumiko noticed when she woke up was the sun, followed immediately by the blanket covering her: a thought that was connected to the blanket covering _them_. Kakashi was still snug on the couch, lying on his back, arm around her, and she herself was nestled half on him, half between him and the couch. Neither of them got up in the night to get the blanket, which could only mean that Kurenai had returned and seen the two of them. Following that conclusion was the thought, '_This is bad!_' 

And yet it didn't seem bad enough for Kumiko to want to get up and remedy the situation. To the contrary, she nestled down again and wished sleep could reclaim her. That way when Kakashi woke up, he could deal with the situation and call the shots, not her.

As her brain slowly began to tick again, she noted that Kurenai was currently in the kitchen, although what she was doing, she didn't know.

Stiffly, Kakashi's arm tightened against her as he stretched and then a moment later his eye lazily opened. He glanced down at the pretending-to-be-sleeping figure lying next to him and he gently ran his free hand through her hair to sweep it off of her face. Her hair elastic had fallen down between the cushions sometime in the night and now the silky mess was tossed around her. His gesture made her snuggle deeper into him, something he found he liked.

"So," he said, his voice thick with sleep, "this seems to have moved past the relationship of a one-night stand."

"Huh?" Kumiko groaned, her voice groggy. She raised her bleary eyes up to meet his and squinted. Clearly she'd been awake, but had desperately been trying to find sleep again.

"We've slept together, like, twice now," he smirked and stretched again.

"Ugn…" Kumiko replied inaudibly, but her cheeks flushed. She lowered her head back down, as if dismissing this, and burrowed back into him and the couch.

"Lunch is ready!" announced Kurenai, almost gleefully.

Kumiko grumbled something into the couch.

Kakashi bent his head towards her, "What was that?"

She raised her head a little bit and repeated herself. "I said, what is Kurenai so happy about?"

"Dunno," he yawned. "Kurenai, what's up?"

"Nothing," she chirruped. "It's just so nice to be home."

"Uh huh."

"And," she continued, almost as an after thought, "I can't wait to tell everyone that I found you two sleeping together!"

"Too bad nothing happened," Kakashi told her sarcastically.

Kurenai smirked at him as she placed three plates on the table, "Sure, like Gai and Asuma are going to believe that."

Kakashi groaned and moved his hands through his own hair.

"Oi," Kumiko poked him. "Quit moving around. Some of us are still trying to sleep."

"But, food…" Kakashi said longingly.

"Men…" Kumiko grumbled in reply.

She just couldn't seem to get over the fact that he was so comfortable and smelled so good. It was almost unfair, but she had to wonder why he hadn't gotten off the couch yet. Maybe he didn't mind her there? That was a comforting thought. Of course, after that thought, his stomach practically roared under the arm that was draped across it. Irritated, Kumiko gave Kakashi a shove to the floor, her parting words, "Go eat."

She tugged the blanket back around her and let her eyes slip shut, his scent sending her spiraling back down to semi-consciousness, but if she thought that Kakashi would take kindly to being shoved out from the warm blanket onto the floor, she should have thought again.

Suddenly, she was being hauled, blanket and all, over Kakashi's shoulder, only this time round she was staring at his feet instead of his derriere. He stomped into the kitchen while Kumiko's head was reeling with the blood rush.

Kurenai looked up from her sandwich in absolute delight as Kakashi stood over her with Kumiko's hair spilling onto the table.

"Honey, I'm home with supper," he said with a grin and rolled Kumiko off of his shoulder.

Instincts kicking in, Kumiko gained footing at once and attacked.

"_Supper_? You Neanderthal! How dare you wake me that way!"

"Neanderthal? Me? You shoved me off the couch! No warning at all!"

"Oh, you were hungry! I gave you a push in the right direction!"

"Do you know how cold the floor is?"

"What floor? The living room is _carpeted_!"

"It's as hard as a floor when you fall off of the couch!"

"Gee, you guys are already fighting like a married couple. Are you _sure_ nothing happened last night?" Kurenai interrupted.

The two of them froze, Kumiko in the act of throwing knives, and Kakashi preparing to block them.

"No, no nothing happened," Kumiko said, calming herself down. She and Kakashi sat themselves at the table across from each other, Kurenai at the head, and then attempted to eat in an uneasy silence. Which Kurenai would have nothing to do with.

"So…what _did_ happen last night?" she prodded.

"I was baking. Kakashi came over," Kumiko replied cryptically.

"So that would be why I found peanuts on the floor?"

"Uh huh."

"And chocolate chips in the sink?"

"Uh huh."

"And batter on the ceiling?"

"Uh…"

The two of them glanced at each other.

"There wasn't a cookie war or something, was there?"

"Maybe…" Kakashi mumbled, unconcerned eyes on his plate.

Kurenai looked at both of them pensively. Kakashi pointedly ignored her, but Kumiko was trying to keep a professional face and not squirm. Finally, she decided it'd be best to leave.

"I'm, uh, going to finish lunch outside, okay?" She snatched her plate up from the table and disappeared out the back door with it.

Kakashi's eyes widened marginally as she got up to leave him alone with Kurenai. His eyes followed her out until she leapt up onto the roof where he could no longer see her. Slightly irritated that she'd left him, he decided to act as though nothing was wrong.

"I suppose that there isn't much more set up for the carnival, huh?" he asked, taking a bite of the sandwich.

"Don't try to distract me from all this, Kakashi. You _like_ her!" Kurenai accused.

"Me? She fell asleep last! She could have left the couch. Besides, when's the last time I ever liked anyone?"

Kurenai waved away his excuses, "I'm talking in general, not just the fact that you two happened to fall asleep in each others' arms."

"You are so sappy."

"I know," she said, "but regardless, the main point here is that you-like-her!"

"Prove it."

The second the words left his mouth, he wished he hadn't said them.

"Well…despite the fact that you read smut—" Kurenai began.

"—romance novels."

"_Smut_," she insisted, "you don't go near women with ten foot poles. The fact that you fell asleep on the couch with one says something. Actually it says a lot, but whatever. You're extremely comfortable arguing with her, something you refrain from doing unless the other person is male, and did you see the way your eyes followed her out when she left?"

"No, actually, I didn't. I was watching _her_, not my eyeballs."

"Ah-_hah_!"

Kakashi rubbed his face with his hands in mental agony wondering how on earth this managed to happen to him.

"So I happen to be comfortable around her. Big deal."

"It _is_ a big deal! And you are _so_ more than just 'comfortable' around her."

"What makes you think that?"

"Were you even listening to me the last two minutes?"

"No, I mean, what makes you think it's such a big deal?"

"Because you never like anyone. Ever."

"Yea, but this whole thing is probably one-way. I mean, what are the chances of her liking me back?"

Kurenai shrugged, "I don't know. She might, though."

He snorted. "Yea, and Hokage-sama is thirty."

"Well you won't know unless you talk to her," Kurenai scoffed.

'_What a terrifying idea_,' he thought and went out back to find her anyways.

* * *

Kumiko sat up on the roof of her house, a frown gracing her features. Kakashi knew. He must know. She'd done such a crummy job hiding her crush that she wondered if she had actually tried. Every time she was with him, her worries lessened and she just…forgot. 

'_This entire village has made me drop my guard,_' she thought. '_I was just on a mission where people tried to kill me and I've already relaxed now that I'm back here._'

But it was so hard not to. Over half of her life she'd had to fend for herself, distrust people because she knew they'd eventually double-cross her but she never once felt those vibes here. It was as if this place was giving her a chance to live. She was finally getting her wish and she wasn't satisfied. How sad was that?

'_He's out there_' she thought. '_That's why I can't relax. I need to be aware of everything. I know that I can trust Kakashi…right?_'

The little voice in the back of her head hit her for doubting. '_He's a good person, and if he isn't then I don't know if anybody could be._' He had a trio of screw-around kids and he'd give his life for them. How could he not be a good person?

She heard the back door open and, deciding that she didn't want to be found yet, took off.

Kakashi leapt up onto the roof and noted the empty plate that Kumiko had left there in her haste to leave. At the moment, he had absolutely no clue to what he should be thinking. She felt something for him, he was almost positive of that, and the very thought made his head light. She wasn't responding well to people finding out, however, but he wasn't sure how to respect that. He wanted to talk to her, but what do you say to someone in this kind of situation? "Hi, I kind of like you." Then what? If she liked him, she could respond with, "Me, too."

And that's where the conversation (if it could be called that) would grind to an uncomfortable halt and they could both stand there, stare at the ground, and then find lame excuses to leave. They'd be uncomfortable with each other and wouldn't know how to react when they saw each other. As a result, they'd try to avoid each other and eventually, people would begin to suspect something and would ask them what was going on. They'd both provide lame answers and then be ushered together by their 'friends with good intentions' for a date. Which they might end up enjoying. Which would lead to another date.

Talking to her right now was beginning to sound like the right way to go about things.

But that was all based off of the assumption that she liked him. If he was reading her wrong and she merely became flustered because she was accused wrongly of something, then at square one, he'd say "Hi, I kind of like you," and then she could look at him funny, become flustered, and then politely turn him down. At that point, his heart would break and he'd have to hole himself up at home and never come out until the embarrassment of being turned down blew over. Then he'd still have to deal with her in his team and they'd be embarrassed around each other, his team would ask them what was going on, to which they'd say nothing, but would both be thinking about what he'd done to upset the balance.

Talking to her sounded very bad indeed.

Undecided, Kakashi collected the plate and then walked back inside. Kurenai was washing up and she took the plate from him.

"So?"

"So what?"

"What now?"

"What do you mean, what now?"

Kurenai smirked to herself at Kakashi's obvious oblivion. "I mean, what are you going to do? Kumiko obviously doesn't know, so it's up to you."

"What do you mean, Kumiko obviously doesn't know?"

"Well, if she knew, she wouldn't have evaded you when you went outside to confront her."

What had he been thinking when he'd gone outside, anyways? "Hi, I kind of like you?" Good thing he now had the chance to think about it, otherwise, either one of the situations he'd considered could have played out without him being aware of the end results. For better or for worse.

"She wouldn't have?"

Kurenai sighed. "If you keep questioning my feminine intuition, we'll get nowhere. Just assume I'm right and we can progress."

"Um…"

"So, _obviously_, Kumiko doesn't know what to do," she pressed. "It's up to you to make the call."

"But so many bad things can come of me doing anything. Why can't we just do nothing and let things play out?"

Why hadn't he thought of that scenario before?

"Because someone has to do _something_ for things to 'play out,'" Kurenai rolled her eyes.

Right.

"Why don't you take her to the carnival?" Kurenai suggested.

"I thought we were all going as a group."

"Well, yes, but exceptions can be made…"

Kakashi shook his head. "No. Let's go as a group."

"Fine, but you two are _so_ riding the Tunnel of Love together."

Kakashi gagged. "No! Anything but that!"

"Aww, but I'm sure she'd love it!"

"I can almost guarantee that that ride is a relationship-destroyer. No."

* * *

In all of her vast knowledge, Kumiko knew just the way to handle the situation between her and Kakashi: pretend nothing happened! An act of cowardice, to be sure, but it would save face, and keep their friendship together (strained, but together). 

When she got home, Kakashi had left. Kurenai was still sitting at the kitchen table, but Kumiko zipped upstairs to avoid confrontation. She was completely prepared to hole herself up in her room, except when she sank onto her bed, she realized that she would be very bored indeed. She didn't own any books, or music… in fact, her room was quite bare.

She was about to make a decision about what to do when Kurenai burst into her room.

"_You_ are stressed!" she accused, pointing a finger. "_I_ have just the right solution to de-stressing!"

Kumiko raised an eyebrow.

"Shopping! You're room is bare! You have nothing to do! You own practically nothing! Let's go!"

"_Thank you_ for reminding me of my obvious state of poverty, Kurenai, but I must remind you that with poverty and lack of possessions comes lack of currency to _buy_ possessions."

Kurenai waved her hand impatiently, "I thought of that already! You may borrow from me!"

"I detest being in someone's debt."

"Fine then, an early birthday gift—stick to small items—let's go!"

"I'm not really up for shopping…" Kumiko tried to say, but Kurenai would hear none of it.

* * *

It was hours later when the two of them returned home. Kurenai had dragged them off to a furniture store in order to fill out Kumiko's room with 'homey touches.' It had surprised Kurenai when Kumiko found herself drawn towards the abstract, colorful pieces of accessories. The light on her desk was a cherry pink frosted desk lamp that had a flexible neck in order to shift its angle; the curtains, initially white, were a complimentary color of purple frost. Kumiko found herself attracted to a fuzzy green rug, also a matching hue to the cherry red and grape purple. Kurenai insisted on buying her the bed set sheets and cover that held all of the above colors, and Kumiko agreed, but drew the line at the canopy. 

Kumiko was relieved that Kurenai hadn't brought up the touchy subject of Kakashi while the two of them were out, but she suspected that either she'd already grilled Kakashi for his side of things, or something was coming up. She hoped nothing was coming up.

As she went to bed that night, she could feel her nerves prickling, a sensation she could only link to the upcoming carnival. She really couldn't believe how giddy she felt. It had been an exceptionally long time since she'd been to one.

When she woke up the next morning, she woke up happy—an experience that improved her cheerful mood even more. She got to go to a carnival today with friends and her room looked…more like a room.

'_And less like a hotel_,' she mused happily.

By the time Kurenai found her in the kitchen making pancakes for breakfast, Kumiko was humming softly.

Kurenai arched an eyebrow, "Sleep well?"

Kumiko shrugged and continued pouring the batter onto the sizzling frying pan. "Yea, I think I did."

"You sure seem happy," Kurenai commented as she wandered over to the phone that was ringing.

Kumiko resumed her task of making breakfast, listening with one ear as Kurenai picked up the phone.

"Hello? …oh, this is, um, Kurenai… I'm good, how are you? Okay, sure. That's fine with us—" she turned to Kumiko, "We'll meet up with the guys at two? To go to the carnival?" When Kumiko nodded, Kurenai returned back to the phone, "Yea that's fine. Uh huh, we'll see you then…"

The nervous flustering in Kurenai's voice wasn't obvious, but Kumiko noticed the change and felt a smug satisfaction knowing that she wasn't the only one trying to avoid the fact that she just might possibly like someone…a ninja…from across the road…

"Who was that?" she asked casually, flipping a pancake, as Kurenai hung up.

"Oh, um, Asuma," Kurenai responded, trying to keep her cool.

"Oh, okay," she replied simply.

Kurenai's guard went up. "Why, what's wrong?" she demanded.

"Nothing," Kumiko shrugged. "You guys aren't…_involved_ in any way, are you?"

"No. Why?"

"No reason…" Kumiko continued her task of laying the plate of pancakes out.

Kurenai snatched one of the plates, sat down as stiffly as though she had a fork up her ass, and then slumped forward. "It's obvious, isn't it?"

Kumiko was taken completely by surprise. Kurenai was outright admitting it, something she would have never thought of. Of course, that was possibly because that wasn't something she'd do, but still, didn't Kurenai know how easy it would be for someone to take that information that she'd given away at the slightest suspicion and turn it against her? Kumiko frowned. Kurenai was scarcely a few years older than she was but was still very much naïve about the ways of the world. The ways of different parts of the world. One she, herself, had had the _privilege_ of being raised in.

Something green and ugly constricted Kumiko's chest and she swallowed down the jealousy she suddenly felt over the innocence of some.

"No," she replied lightly, without hint of a bite in her voice, "it isn't obvious."

Kurenai looked up, dismay on her face, "You mean I just admitted that needlessly?"

Kumiko smirked, "Well yes, it was needless, but only because I figured it out."

Kurenai frowned, "I thought you said it wasn't obvious."

"Well, it isn't. I wouldn't have really noticed except that I'm extremely perceptive. Or, rather, I'd like to think I am…_something_ has to be keeping me alive, and it can't be all of my unnatural talent on the battlefield…"

Kurenai smirked, "Or your abnormal level of modesty."

"Yea, or that either…"

Kumiko ignored Kurenai's wry grin and felt strangely relieved that the tightness in her chest had passed as quickly as it had come.

"Ugg…" Kurenai said descriptively.

"…yes?"

"You must think I'm horrible…torturing you and Kakashi yesterday at lunch up to the point that you had to leave—sorry about that, by the way—only to be going through the same thing myself…"

"Well, now that you've deprived me of saying it myself, yes I do think you're horrible."

Kurenai pouted into her pancakes.

"But never fear; these things can be made up."

Kurenai looked up, "How?"

"I don't know…paying for my entrance ticket to the carnival maybe?"

Kurenai fell about in a coughing fit and Kumiko wondered what was wrong until she heard 'convinced' and 'Kakashi' and 'paying' pop up in her string of words.

Kurenai suddenly straightened and said, "So you see, it's all taken care of, just I won't be the one paying."

Kumiko did not see, but decided to let it go. "Well, never mind then."

The two spent their morning practicing by themselves in the woods, had lunch after they showered, and then by two o'clock, were ready to meet the guys outside.

They had a minor crisis when Kurenai caught Kumiko trying to attend the carnival in her jounin uniform—a disaster that lasted only ten minutes as Kumiko only had a few other things in her wardrobe to change into, and then another shortly after when Kurenai fussed over the fact that Kumiko had no makeup and therefore would have to borrow hers.

"But I don't need makeup, do I?"

"Of course you do! This is a fun, special event, so I'm going to dress you up."

When they finally stepped out into the sunlit street, Kumiko could not help breathing a sigh of relief before she was spontaneously assaulted.

"Angel! Will you ride in the Tunnel of Love with me?"

"Gah! Wait! What? Yes! No! Um. Wait, what!"

But Gai had already moved on, having heard what he wanted, "Did you hear that? She said yes! Hah-_hah_! _Love_ City, here I come!"

* * *

They walked together through the streets of Konoha comfortably and with a sense of ease. Upon arriving at the gate, the three guys walked up and bought tickets while Kumiko and Kurenai stood to the side, cheeks mildly flushed. 

Kumiko watched with a soft smile as Asuma presented Kurenai her ticket and she could see, by the look in Asuma's eyes, that Kurenai's feelings were in luck.

Kakashi handed Kumiko her ticket with a smile and something about the whole situation, him handing her her ticket, coupled with the simple, happy smile on his face, made her happy. So she accepted her ticket and gifted him with a bright smile, one that managed to make his joints all momentarily stiff so that he couldn't move from the spot or take his eyes off of her.

"Oooh, let's ride _that_ one first!" Kurenai exclaimed, jerking Kakashi out of his momentary paralysis.

They all swiveled to see where she was pointing.

They all experienced similar feelings of chill, tension, and nausea as they regarded the roller coaster.

After a moment of silence, Kumiko quietly spoke up. "How about we go on that one after our lunch, um, digests? So that it doesn't end up, you know, everywhere?"

Shoulders slumped, Kurenai nodded in accepting agreement. "Alright, I guess that makes sense."

"It most certainly does!" Gai exclaimed, stepping up. "Let's ride those instead!"

They all looked towards the bumper cars.

'_Right, like that won't jerk my food out of me…_' Kumiko thought dismally, but when Asuma seconded the idea, they all trekked over and stood in line for a few minutes.

Climbing into the single-seat car, Kumiko strapped herself down and waited anxiously for the cars to be powered, preparing to practice her dodging skills, rather than her smacking skills. She started out trying to avoid other cars, but as anyone who's done it will tell you, that is virtually impossible in bumper cars.

In all, she decided that it wasn't really as bad as she'd anticipated as she happily t-boned Kakashi during their fourth round. She thoroughly enjoyed her time chasing and being chased and almost felt disappointed when they decided to move on to something else.

They hopped into the go-carts next and raced each other around the track, Kurenai losing dismally, Kakashi, Asuma, and Kumiko fighting for the first three places, and Gai falling in between the two. In the end, Asuma pulled across the finish line first so Kumiko and Kakashi bickered together about who had _really_ crossed second.

"Obviously I did; the front of my car was in front of yours," he snorted.

"What? Well, your car was longer than mine was, so obviously we must judge by whose body was fully across first. And mine was."

"Are you perceptually retarded? My car was _not_ longer than yours! They were exactly the same length and I crossed first."

"Perceptually retarded? Ex_cuse_ me, but who only uses _one eye_! If anybody has a perceptual disadvantage, it's _you_, which means that I win by default because you aren't fit to judge."

"Hey! I am just as fit to judge as you are. And even if I wasn't, how does me being able to judge or not simply dictate you as the winner? I should get a handicap advantage."

"Err…it just does! If you can't see right then you obviously aren't fit to drive _regardless_, so you shall have to refrain from doing so in the future." Kumiko grasped on to the last straw in an attempt to avoid defeat.

"I can drive just as well as you can!" Then he turned his nose up, "_Better_ than you can, actually, since I won."

Kumiko opened her mouth to retaliate again but Asuma interrupted them. "Incase you both forgot, _I_ won. Now let's ride that rollercoaster that Kurenai's bugging me about."

"You may have won, but _I_ came in second…" Kakashi muttered.

"Oh you _so_ did not!" Kumiko hissed back.

"I did, too!" Kakashi exclaimed loudly.

Other carnival patrons paused in their activities around them to stare.

"Err, don't…don't mind him!" Kumiko tentatively called, trying to make them go away. "He's just orally retarded."

Pause.

"Optically! O_ptically _retarded! He can't see! Blind! One eye! Oh crap…"

Kakashi bit back his laughter at her, sniggering instead behind his hand but then joined the rest of the group in full-out laughter as she turned away from the crowd who indeed decided to go away.

"_Orally_ retarded, Kumiko?" Asuma laughed. "And how, pray tell, do you know _this_?"

Kakashi didn't think it was possible for someone to look pale while still being bright red, but Kumiko was doing an excellent demonstration of it.

"Oh look, the rollercoaster!" she squeaked and hustled over to it, dragging Kurenai with her so that everybody else would follow.

Gai, catching on, decided things could go no further. "Kakashi, you _knave_, you've _kissed_ her? How _dare_ you!"

Kumiko found herself laughing with Asuma and Kurenai because she was no longer the sole cause of their amusement. Eyes bright, she laughed at Kakashi's horrified expression, but he, always one to laugh at himself, joined in.

They hopped into the roller coaster, Kakashi and Kumiko sharing a cart now that the ice between them had been more or less broken.

"Okay, I've, um, never ridden one of these before," Kumiko said, "so how do I not go flying out?"

"Strap yourself in," Kakashi instructed.

She did so, tightly.

"And hold on to the bar in front of you."

She gripped it.

When they didn't get started right away, however, she let herself relax, placing her hands in her lap. Kakashi was sitting as relaxed as he could be while sitting next to her, having ridden one of these before, and grinned in anticipation when the train of cars finally began to slowly move forward.

"I say, aren't these things supposed to be fast?" Kumiko asked curiously as the train sluggishly pulled itself up the hill.

"This whole thing runs off of momentum," Kakashi explained.

Kumiko felt as though someone had dripped ice water down her spine. "Momentum? As in once we get to the top it's going to let us go and we won't stop until friction slows us?"

"More or less."

They were only half way to the top when Kumiko was starting to have serious regrets.

'_Why am I putting myself through this?_' she asked herself in what she hopped was a cogent voice. '_I am about to go plummeting down a hill in a rickety cart wearing a strap across my lap to keep me in. I am going to go flying out, lose my lunch while I'm at it, and possibly break my neck. And how, I wonder, did I fail to notice that the track flips upside-down up ahead?_'

The cart reached the top, let go, and Kumiko felt a scream fall out of her apparently open mouth.

Down the first hill they went and up the next, Kumiko's hands gripping the bar in front of her, her knuckles white. The bar was a mildly uncomfortable distance from her but there wasn't really anything closer to her that she could grip. Well, except for, maybe, Kakashi, but the rational part of her brain that was still somehow able to think through this thought that grabbing onto his arm might not be such a brilliant idea.

'_Oh my God oh my God oh my God oh God oh God oh God oh GOD!_' went flying through her mind before she realized that the swooping feeling of pulling up from a dip and then cresting a hill was exhilaratingly fun. The adrenaline kicked in and she caught herself laughing out of control, shrieking and whooping without really hearing herself.

When they all stumbled out onto the landing platform, Kumiko still felt quite giddy from the experience.

"Can we do that again?" Kurenai asked with wide, excited eyes.

"If you do," Kumiko laughed nervously, "could you grab my heart for me? I think I left it and a few other organs at the top of a hill."

Kakashi smirked and steadied her. "Not quite ready to do it again?"

His hand steadying her shoulder wasn't helping her thoughts realign themselves. "No. No, not yet. Later," she promised.

"Well, try not to laugh like a maniac next time," he said. "It's kind of frightening."

"I couldn't help it!"

"Come on, you guys, Asuma and I are riding it again!" Kurenai called.

"You guys go do that…I think I'll float around on the merry-go-round instead…" Kumiko mumbled.

"Angel! Let's ride the Tunnel of Love!"

'_Ugg…_'

Kakashi smirked at her, "It's a slow ride."

She sniffed, "Well alright then, let's."

* * *

It was, in a word, nauseating. More so than the rollercoaster, but for entirely different reasons. Kumiko couldn't say whether or not she'd have chosen the rollercoaster again, but she was sure she would have favored the merry-go-round. 

The interior was a bright sky-blue with clouds painted across the ceiling. Tiny, naked cupids sat on the clouds, some with arrows, and some with benign expressions (the ones with the arrows didn't look so benign), and everything else was covered in hearts and was _pink_.

Kumiko had nothing against pink. In small quantities. But when the entire train of carts is pink, decorated in lace, and the walls are crowded with pink hearts, however, you tend to develop a grudge.

It didn't help that the couple in front of them decided that this ride gave them make-out rights and Gai kept trying to place his arm around her.

For the second time within the hour, Kumiko wondered if she was going to vomit. It was like a Valentine's Day horror movie. And it was terrifying.

When the bubbles started blowing on them, clear with pastel rainbows, Kumiko watched one of the girls up ahead squealed and then began trying to cup the bubbles in her hand, while her boyfriend beside her smiled at her. For her part, Kumiko found more enjoyment stabbing the bubbles with her finger tip and cackling softly when they popped.

"Isn't this fun, Angel?" Gai cooed at her.

"Nng…"

Clearly happy with her level of enthusiasm, Gai twisted in his seat and grabbed her hands. "Angel…will you go out with me?"

'_Well, I can't say I didn't see this coming…actually, I can, but…ah, what to do, what to do…_' she wondered, trying to find a diplomatic way to let him down.

"Um…Well, you see, Gai…" she mumbled hesitantly, not wanting him to cause a scene.

Automatically he backed up, though still not letting go of her hands, "I understand, you are speechless. Give this some thought; I can wait!"

"Well, actually…" she began, and then realized that he was giving her an opening and decided to take it. "Thank you," she said quietly, smiling.

When the couple in front of them started seriously getting it on, Kumiko began glancing around for things to subtly throw at them because poking them might not give her the desired result. Poking them with her finger, that is… Her _knife_ on the other hand…

Suddenly they popped out into the sunlight again and Kumiko was one of the first people off the ride, vaulting over Gai in her haste.

"How was it?" Kakashi smirked at her when they met up.

"I'd ride that roller coaster again," she said.

He laughed and said, "Not that one again, but how about we ride that one?"

The group followed the direction he pointed at and nodded enthusiastically, trekking over to it.

It was a swing, or rather, it swung back and forth. It sat about thirty people around the circumference and it spun, too.

"The Psyclone…" Kumiko repeated its name calmly. "It makes me kind of afraid."

Kakashi feigned shock. "Afraid? You? No…I must have misheard you."

She aimed a glare at him and pointedly selected a seat.

They spent the rest of the afternoon going from ride to ride. By 5 o'clock they ran into their students and the group expanded. If it was at all possible, the euphoria buoyed them all up; it was a contagious happiness that everybody at the carnival seemed to share. Completely surrounded by laughter and the shrieks from the roller coasters, smiles were fixed on everybody's face as they made the anonymous agreement to find food for dinner.

"That," Kurenai said around her mouthful, "is the biggest Ferris wheel I've ever seen."

"Well, we haven't gone on it yet," Asuma pointed out after swallowing. "How about we finish eating and then head over?"

Kakashi seconded the idea and so the group swallowed their last bites and then made their way over to the huge, rotating wheel and stood in line.

Kumiko fidgeted. She and Kakashi were going to share a seat and unlike a rollercoaster, this ride did not prevent talking.

But she wasn't going to back down. She could, but she would not. The village may have changed her a bit in that she allowed herself to breathe a little easier but it would not make her a coward and think it okay to avoid her problems. Resolute, she held her head high and calmly followed Kakashi to her seat when it swung down and the attendant waved them on. The bar was pulled down over them and locked into place and then they were swinging upward. Leaning over the side of her seat, Kumiko watched Kurenai timidly follow Asuma onto the seat beneath hers. Smoothly, the ride would move and then stop, allowing others on, until finally it rotated continuously and Kumiko's face lit up as she watched Konoha fall away and then rise up to meet her again and again.

"It's a wonderful view," Kakashi ventured and then winced as Kumiko stiffened. She'd momentarily forgotten he was there with her, knowing there was someone beside her, but forgetting their current predicament.

Loosening her shoulders, she replied, "It is."

The silence stretched between them, both painfully aware of how close they were sitting next to each other.

Steeling himself, Kakashi decided to say something. "Kumiko…about yesterday…" _Where had **that** come from?_

"Oooh, look at all the pretty lights!" she said, pretending not to have heard him.

He sighed, mentally hitting himself. "Okay," he said, more to himself, "we don't have to talk about it."

"Good," she smiled, still looking at the village as they crested the wheel again, "I'm sorry about the couch thing, by the way. It won't happen again." _Cause as soon as I get off this ride, I'm going to go curl up in a corner and die._

"Okay. Do you want to go for coffee tomorrow anyway?" _Why is my mouth making executive decisions before consulting my brain?_

Kumiko stopped breathing. "Wh-why…?"

'_Why indeed?_' Kakashi thought. "Ah, never mind…" Crap on toast, she didn't like him. His heart would have severed or done _something_, except his face was too busy being red.

"No really," she insisted, killing herself in the process. If this was a pity invitation, she may as well off herself now. "Why?"

"Because I want to," Kakashi blurted. "Drink coffee, I mean. With you." _Where the hell has my brain gone?_

"Oh, okay. That'd be nice, I guess." _That'd be nice I guess? What the heck is wrong with me?_

"Nine am?"

Kumiko glanced at him, "Will you be up at that hour?"

"Of course," Kakashi replied, his voice soft with a whisper of indignance.

Her lip twitched. "Nine am."

They settled back into silence and both suddenly felt that the view before them was somehow more spectacular than before.

* * *

Getting off the ride, the group split, Gai going off with the students, Kurenai and Asuma looking at another ride, and Kakashi needing to use the restrooms. 

There was a bubble in Kumiko's chest, and it blossomed out of her in the form of a smile; she couldn't believe how the evening was going. It was one of those moments that she thought that if she died tomorrow, that might not be too bad because she'd had tonight.

That was, of course, before that hand had reached out and gripped her wrist. Not only did that ruin the entire evening for her, but she felt the tell-tale feeling of having her life turned upside down. Again.

* * *

Oh my gosh, I actually ended something with a cliff hanger. Nyahaha…

Yay! Another chapter done! Finally (yea, so much for finishing it over Xmas break…)! And I've got the beginning of the next chapter written and it'll be amazing! Of course, my summer is really busy and I have a life and all that, so I really can't say when I'll next update…but I've got the entire fic all planned out so, yay!

Critic time! Please let me know how you all thought the, for lack of better word, 'waff' was in the chapter. Part of the reason it took so long to update was cause I put myself under a lot of pressure trying to get it right between Kumiko and Kakashi, so please let me know if my efforts were worth it!

Oh yea, just so I know, in your reviews could you also let me know how often you look at my fanfiction home page? Cause in the Bio section I've been updating when I've written and letting you all know how it's coming along. I just want to know how many ppl have noticed and use this.

And once again I'd like to say thanks so veryulterificmuch to you, all of my supportive readers (well, to those of you who are still here with me), but most of all to my fantabulous sister/editor. If it wasn't for her, you wouldn't see this chapter for at least another six months. Hurray for loving (if violent and menacing) support!

-Kirara


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